On Friday the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, in partnership with Illinois University’s Center on Philanthropy, hosted a discussion titled “Giving USA 2012: Who Gave, How Much, and to Whom in 2011?” The Curtis Group’s Vice President, Wendy McGrady, along with Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy Executive Director, Patrick M. Rooney; Nonprofit Quarterly’s… Read more »
Make the Most of Your Data
Last week we participated in a webinar on donor databases titled “Data Data Everywhere. Mining for Gold in your Donor Database.” This hour-long discussion was conducted by Fundraising Success magazine and featured three presenters: Amanda Mallinger Reinartz, Manager Product Development, Metafile; Jodi Scheib, Vice President, Fundraising, DMW Direct; and Joe Hamilton, Director of Development, Franciscan Friars…. Read more »
Raising Money Like an Entrepreneur: “Selling” Advice to Nonprofits
This week we came across an interesting article in our Twitter feed by Charles Moldow, a partner at a Venture Capital firm. Although the blog post from the website Tech Crunch is written for entrepreneurs seeking start up investments, there are clear parallels to be drawn for small nonprofits soliciting gifts from individuals. At the end… Read more »
From the Donor’s Perspective
As a part of our daily work we spend a lot of time listening to donors share their candid impressions of our client’s organizations as a whole; everything from the effectiveness of the staff and board to the way they are cultivated. Through the planning study, development assessment and capacity building interview process we learn… Read more »
Tips on Converting Event Donors to Organizational Donors
We recently tuned in to an informative webinar on “Converting Event Donors to Organizational Donors” presented by fellow Giving Institute member, Event 360. The webinar, part of Giving Institute’s monthly series, opened by defining the characteristics of these two distinctly different types of donors—the difference being the individual’s degree of knowledge, connection, motivation and investment…. Read more »
Building a Strong Board: Tips From a Seasoned Veteran
Last week we attended the first of the 2012 AFP-Hampton Roads luncheon series. Susan Hirschbiel, philanthropist, community volunteer, and recipient of the National Philanthropy Day 2011 Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser, spoke on the topic of building a strong board. It’s not often that nonprofit professionals have the opportunity to hear about board service from an actual board… Read more »
Giving USA Spotlight: Relationship Cultivation Using Social Media
As most nonprofits are wrapping up the final week of their annual giving campaign and gearing up for the New Year, we wanted to share some valuable information from the latest edition of the 2011 Giving USA Spotlight series. The third and final issue of the year, entitled, “Relationship Cultivation Using Social Media” offers good… Read more »
Preparing for the Natural Evolution of a Campaign
With the tides beginning to turn in the number of requests we are receiving for campaign planning studies, it seems as though people’s thoughts are finally turning more towards campaigns. So often nonprofit boards want to see immediate and constant results when delving into a campaign, but in reality this is simply not the way a… Read more »
Rethinking Your Annual Giving Approach
Last week Wendy and I attended an interesting presentation on annual giving at our Hampton Roads AFP chapter meeting. Kim Sperling, Director of Development at the Mason School of Business at William and Mary, revealed “Ten Truths and a Myth about Annual Giving,” which reiterated much of the advice we’ve been giving recently around the… Read more »
Do Your Board Members Have the Arrows They Need?
Earlier this week Keith and I led a workshop during the Virginia Association of Museum’s Annual Conference. As part of our session, entitled Making a Successful Major Gift Ask, we recruited our friends and clients, Page Hayhurst, Executive Director, Carolyn Cuthrell, Director of Development, and Joe Witt, Board Member, from the Virginia Living Museum to… Read more »
