Give and Take

How do you want to be remembered? Someone who left chaos or left a legacy? 

After the fundraising marathon of November and December, thinking about another development strategy in January may seem like going overboard. However, a built-in requirement for every nonprofit in the United States provides an inspiring place to add extra stewardship at a key time of year.

I’ll never forget the first time my wife and I met with our lawyer to create our estate plans. When do you pull the plug if a partner is terminally ill? What happens if we both die in an accident at the same time? Who do we trust to be an executor? It was, in many ways, a grim task, and I could see why so many people put it off.

Online will makers are everywhere you look these days. From FreeWill, Rocket Lawyer, Trust & Will and GivingDocs to the comprehensive LegacyPlanner, it feels like everyone is offering their own version. And sometimes it seems like they all just appeared overnight, too. But the truth is, the industry has been around for decades — both US Legal Wills and LegalZoom had online versions more than 20 years ago.

It’s almost 2024! To celebrate the crest of another year, here are five of the most potent New Year’s resolutions for nonprofit professionals. Enjoy these quirky resolutions for the nonprofit professional in your life. From losing weight to falling in love.

We can have the greatest product, mission, or idea in the world, but if no one hears it, what good is it? At the same time, we can whisper a good idea, and it can change the world.

The idea of your organization receiving a windfall may seem like only the stuff of dreams. But with stories of nonprofits experiencing unexpected major gifts happen all the time. When a donor chooses to give their wealth to your organization, will you be ready?

Managers care about titles. Leaders care about people.​ If you dare to be a leader, this is a must-read article by Wayne Olson.

A few essential pieces of data help fuel a powerful development department. These metrics, often called Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, help fundraisers gauge the health of their activities. Another essential KPI for fundraisers is the Average Gift Amount.

You’ve finally decided to create an estate plan instead of taking the path of Abraham Lincoln, Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin. Congratulations! But how do you choose an executor or trustee? We have a few tips that will help.

There are good causes with plenty of people and projects in need of support as they strive to make the world a better place. You might like to consider supporting them as part of your estate plan, making a charitable donation with the wealth you leave behind. This can be a wonderful way to give something back to the world, leave a positive impression, and support a cause that matters or means something to you personally. It also feels great, which is why so many people opt to add a charitable donation to their estate plan. But how does it all work? And what’s the best way to go about it? Here's a five-step guide to learn all about charitable giving in estate planning.

We all know them. The phone rings and the caller ID shows this is a call from someone who we know will be trouble. He or she is calling to complain, and it will not be pleasant. Around the room, people suddenly get busy so they will not have to take the dreaded call. Accelerate your career by taking the call!

American churches may be facing a fundraising reckoning. The word “recession” is on everyone’s mind. The stock market looks like a roller coaster. Fewer people are in the pews, and fewer dollars are in the collection basket. An entire generation of older, more generous parishioners is passing. And so far, “The Great Wealth Transfer” has yet to fill anyone’s collection plates to the brim (although that will change). Download Latest Stats on Church Giving (PowerPoint Show) Add to those challenges the historical fundraising problems that churches face: a reluctance to discuss money; a disconnect between the clergy, leadership, and laypeople; and an unfamiliarity with planned giving programs and how they work. It all adds up to a looming threat. We are the most religious nation in the West. We’re among the wealthiest nations in the world. Yet our houses of worship consistently rank near the bottom of U.S. charities when it

There’s something that some fundraisers don’t get that good marketers know instinctively: You’re not selling a product, gift plan, or naming rights. To paraphrase Steve Jobs, “You’re selling a dream.”   It doesn’t matter if you’re buying a Ferrari or Ford, a Rolex or a Timex, diamond earrings or cubic zirconia, a villa on a lake or a weekend at an Airbnb: You’re buying a dream of something bigger, better, shinier, or easier.  The same goes for donors. Your donors are buying a painting visualized in their minds. They’re not “buying” your mission. They’re buying a dream of lasting legacies; philanthropic hopes; and transformative outcomes. Objects are a commodity. Whether it’s a Ferrari Testarossa or a Ford Focus, it’s just a car. But a dream is something different. It’s a very personal thing, and you — the fundraiser or “salesperson” — cannot put a price tag on it. That’s for the

Planned giving can present a unique challenge for marketing, because the unspoken message is that a death must occur for a gift to be fully realized. Here are two ways to alleviate the macabre undertone.

This will sound familiar. A fundraiser has a good relationship with a donor and wants to prepare to make a major gift ask. Extensive research has been collected about the donor. It includes a philanthropic capacity estimate from services like iwave and DonorSearch, and whatever else could be found online. Notes from conversations, street research from people who know the donor, and the donor’s giving history to her organization are also gathered. Despite all of the research, the fundraiser has an uneasy feeling that whatever ask amount is settled upon, it will, at best, be a guess.

We have all unfortunately been there. A meeting that could have been an email. A lengthy meeting that left all attendees confused about what was accomplished. A brainstorming session where personalities derailed the discussion. What these situations all needed is an effective facilitator. Learn how to run respectful and productive gatherings with these basic facilitation tips.

We’ve all read the breathless projections of up to $140 trillion of wealth that will be inherited by Gen X and the Millennials over the next number of years. And as professionals in philanthropy, I expect we’ve all been waiting for that transfer to begin and make the great impact on charities we’ve imagined it will. But I admit my hair is getting grayer — and disappearing — as I wait for the great reward of this promised inheritance.

Endowments are most often associated with institutions of higher learning and huge nonprofits like hospitals. But an endowment may be a great fit for one of your prospective planned giving donors.