Empowering strategies and tools for fundraising success
Why Big Campaign Goals Stall (and How Your Lifecycle Stage May Hold the Key)
Can your current operational engine actually carry the weight of your biggest institutional dream?
When an ambitious campaign stalls 18 months in, boards often assume they hired the wrong fundraisers or that donor fatigue has set in. Often the real culprit is an organizational lifecycle mismatch: trying to run a mature-stage campaign with an adolescent-stage back office. Read this post to diagnose your operational stage and build the runway needed to cross your campaign finish line.
The 89/2 Rule: Why You Need an Investor Pitch Deck for Principal Gift Fundraising
What would happen to your upcoming campaign if the 2% of donors who provide nearly 90% of your capital evaluated your proposals the exact same way they evaluate a venture investment?
Here is the framework for a 10-slide philanthropic investor pitch deck designed specifically for your principal gift conversations: how to frame transparent unit economics, illustrate catalytic multipliers, and navigate internal pushback.
A High-impact Roadmap to Activate Your New Board Members from Day One
How many brilliant new board members are currently sitting on their hands at your meetings simply because they aren't sure where to jump in? Unlocking their potential is critical, but when your leadership team is running on fumes, you need a simple plan.
Here is a practical guide to board onboarding for overstretched nonprofit leaders who want to turn disengagement into strategic momentum.
From Friction to Alignment: Navigating the 5 Stages of Board Maturity
Are your board members acting as true strategic thought partners or are they caught between micromanaging staff and rubber-stamping decisions? As an organization grows, the board's role naturally shifts, bringing distinct priorities, recruitment focuses, and friction points at each stage. Here are four practical ways to move your board toward balance.
The 40% Problem: 10 Ways to Fix a Transactional Donor Culture
If you asked your major donors honestly, would they say they feel like true partners in your mission, or do they feel like an institutional ATM? With donor retention stubbornly stuck at 40% industry-wide, here are 10 things you can do that prove to your donors they are more than just a wallet to you.
The Simple Visit Tool that Brings a Donor’s Impact to Life and Sparks Their Next Gift
What if you stopped pitching your donors and started treating them like true partners in solving real-world challenges?
By sharing your institution’s priorities and challenges alongside proof of past success, this organizational update tool pairs transparency with impact to pave the way for quicker future gifts.
Plugging the Pipeline Leak: An Action Plan to Retaining First-time Donors
Celebrating a gift from brand-new donor feels amazing. However, behind that acquisition victory lies a quiet crisis: up to 85% of those new supporters will never give a second time. Follow this roadmap to turn that one-time donor into a lifelong investor in your mission.
Worried About Your Fundraising Goal? It's Time to Double Down on Your Top Donor Strategy
Staring at a gap in your fundraising goal? Instead of casting a wide net, it’s time to concentrate your efforts on the greatest return. This post delivers a 4-step playbook for a laser-focused strategy with your top donors, helping you close that revenue gap and inspire generosity.
Raise More, Stress Less: A Unified Playbook for Year-End Success
A staggering 35% of all charitable giving happens between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Learn how to capture more of that generosity this year by trading team burnout for a unified campaign playbook that builds momentum from GivingTuesday onward.
The Hidden Reason Your Fundraising Isn't Reaching Its Potential
Are you frustrated that your fundraisers aren't raising as much money as they should be? The reason might not be what you think. The hidden culprit could be an administrative work overload. Find out how you can assess this issue at your organization.
The Lifetime Gift Dilemma: Steward Loyal Donors While Driving Your Pipeline
What do you do with the donor who's made the gift of a lifetime? Implementing a 'permanent stewardship' stage with a dedicated liaison and clear action steps isn't just a best practice; it's a game-changer for donor retention and organizational health. Learn how to best utilize this practice in your institution.
The Development Assessment: Charting Your Roadmap to Peak Fundraising Success
Feeling like your organization isn't raising all the money it "should be"? You're not alone. A development assessment can illuminate your precise roadmap for growth. Learn how to perform one (or hire me to expertly audit your fundraising org for you).
Which Key Performance Indicators Really Drive Major Gifts and Performance (and Why I Hate Most Frontline Fundraiser Metrics)?
Your top goals as a manager of fundraisers are to drive deeper donor commitment to your organization, bring in impactful dollars to support your community and programs, and grow and retain talented fundraisers. So how do you set up metrics with you gift officers that actually measure and produce those results?
Why Should You Donate by Fiscal Year End?: Messaging that Actually Motivates Donors
Struggling to motivate donors for fiscal year-end giving? Communicate the “why now” to drive donations by June 30 by messaging the life-changing difference donors will make for our students the incoming school year.
Streamlining Donor Qualification: Utilize This Powerful Discovery Visit Question…
If you are struggling to quickly qualify who your true prospective major gift donors are from your first visit with them, all you really need to ask is one essential high-impact question… the “continuum question.”
Does a $10 Donation Really Matter? Showing Donors Their Tangible Impact
How can we show donors that their annual fund gifts of all sizes make a difference, especially when tuition costs are so high? Let’s take a page from successful non-profits’ playbooks and apply it to benefit your educational institution with real-life examples for you to share with your prospects and donors.
Buck the High Turnover Rate of Fundraising Staff: Your Guide to Conducting Stay Interviews
Don't wait until it's too late! Here is a guide to conducting stay interviews - a tool to empower employees to share their valuable insights and concerns. This direct feedback allows you as a manager to take action and create a workplace where employees feel heard, valued, and motivated to stay.
The Key to Hiring Fantastic Fundraisers?… Treat Them like Major Donors! (Part 3)
Leaning on cultivation skills throughout the interview process
Show your top candidates that they should make their next career investment with you. Here is my guide to recruiting fundraisers like a fundraiser, broken down step-by-step with useful tips, samples and resources.
The Key to Hiring Fantastic Fundraisers?… Treat Them like Major Donors! (Part 2)
Creating a prospect pipeline and flexing your discovery skills to find “the one” for this job
Are you hiring for a fundraising position but find yourself desperately tearing out your hair because qualified candidates are not applying? Here is my guide to recruiting fundraisers like a fundraiser, broken down step-by-step with useful tips, samples and resources.
The Key to Hiring Fantastic Fundraisers?… Treat Them like Major Donors! (Part 1)
Developing a clear and thoughtful recruitment strategy
Are you hiring for a fundraising position but find yourself desperately tearing out your hair because qualified candidates are not applying? Here is my guide to recruiting fundraisers like a fundraiser, broken down step-by-step with useful tips, samples and resources.