Our Blog: The Calling
It’s not a job. It’s a calling.
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Resolve to Ask for Planned Gifts
You don’t have to know the difference between a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) and a charitable gift annuity (CGA) to begin asking for “planned” gifts. In fact, you don’t need to know much of anything at all about planned giving to ask your constituents to remember them in their wills or other financial planning instruments so resolve in 2020 to begin asking for planned gifts. Here are the first 4, simple, no-cost steps to take to get started!
Resolve to Make Your Workplace a Great Place to Work for Everyone, Including Development Professionals
Most fundraising professionals have very specific goals—how much to raise by when. In contrast, I have worked with very few nonprofit organizations that have meaningful goals for program directors, human resources personnel, marketing personnel, and others. Everyone would benefit (including our clients) if we would demand the same level of excellence from all staff that nonprofits are pretty routinely demanding of development professionals.
What Works: The Top 5 Most Effective Fundraising Strategies
In one of my previous blog posts, I wrote about all the fundraising strategies that that I was hearing nonprofit professionals say weren’t worth the trouble—strategies that no longer seemed to be working. In this post, I’d like to write a little about which...
2020 Resolution #1 for Small Nonprofits: Begin a Major Gifts Program
“The juice is not worth the squeeze.” I’ve heard that expression (which, I confess, I hate) several times this year from nonprofit CEOs. They’ve said it referring to a number of fundraising tactics. In different conversations with different CEO’s this past year, I’ve...
#ThankYouWednesday: The Day After #GivingTuesday
Is the automated email message donors will receive on #GivingTuesday after they give online to your organization enough of a thank you note? Maybe. Or maybe not. The answer is: it depends. In fundraising, it's often the questions about the small details rather than...
Donor Welcome Kits: Like a Fresh, Warm Loaf of Homemade Bread
A few weeks ago, Russell, my husband, and I visited a new church. As we were leaving the church, a church member gave us with a loaf of homemade bread. Whether you do it virtually or through the postal system (or both), you want your donors to feel welcome. Think: warm, fresh, homemade bread—plain, simple, humble, but sincere and effective—that’s what our new donor welcome kits need to be.
3 Great Reasons to Jump Into #GivingTuesday
This year, I've heard a lot of fundraisers debate the value of #GivingTuesday (#GT). I think there is a bit of #GivingTuesday fatigue with fundraising professionals. Every year, there is hype and hope which is followed for many by disappointment. Combine this mix with...
About me
Rebecca H. Davis, PhD, ACFRE, CFRE is a fundraising professional with more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit and academic settings.