Top Ten Mistakes that Discourage Donors
As fundraising professionals, we often make mistakes that discourage donors, instead of encourage them. Don’t do that! Instead, inspire and engage them. Here’s how!
Steps to Establish a Planned Giving Program (or… the Kid With the Kite!)
It’s true — a kid with a kite! There’s a lesson that fundraisers can learn from the history of Niagara Falls — specifically, about a suspension bridge that, from 1855 to 1897, connected the United States to Canada over the roaring waters. This clearly shows how marketing is behind everything. (And, in a roundabout way, the steps you need to take to establish a planned giving program!)
My Apple Tree
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. ~ Martin Luther
Planned Giving and the Church
The congregation sighs and settles in for what the pastor knows is actually their least favorite Sunday. “Please take a look at the insert in your bulletin,” he continues. “You’ll see that we didn’t meet our budget again this year.” His audience knows where this is going: The church is struggling to accomplish its mission, but the congregation is not pulling its weight in terms of monetary contributions.
You Need a Planned Giving Program
If you’re not pursuing planned gifts, the nonprofit next door is. If they win the heart of your donors, your cash gifts will follow out the door, too.
Planned Gifts Take Too Long!
Planned gifts are not always deferred. Some provide immediate cash, some come in sooner than you think, and here are a few tips to accelerate them.
Planned Giving for Smaller Nonprofit: 10 Reasons
If you’re not going after planned gifts, the bigger fish next door is. And since planned gifts are gifts from the heart, they inspire more cash gifts, too. This means, if the nonprofit next door wins your planned gifts, your cash gifts will walk out the door, too.
Tiger Woods, Defining Moments, Nonprofits, Lies and Life, Honesty
Remember when news broke that Tiger Woods was cheating — not at golf, but on his wife? The media jumped all over the story.
How to Be Massively Productive
What is the single biggest excuse people use to not do things they say they want to do? Wait for it… (No pun intended.) “I don’t have time.” We’re about to blow that excuse away.
It’s Easy To Find Success — You Just Have To Know Where To Look
By Dennis Haber It seems to be one of those fundamental laws: If there’s air travel involved, there’s a good chance you and your luggage will go your separate ways. So, I wondered, If you go to a lost and found when your luggage is lost, where do you go when YOU’RE lost? When your performance is subpar and you don’t know what to do next, do you ask others, “Have you seen the real me? I’m lost.” Of course you don’t. Creation, Not Discovery Successful people never “find” themselves. They go deep inside and create themselves. The tool of POTENTIAL is very useful toward this end. That is why it is important to embrace this fundamental truth: Everything in life exists in POTENTIAL. Those who understand the power behind POTENTIAL will have a lot more success than those who choose to ignore the influence they actually have over events and ways to respond to those events. The potential mindset shift is so powerful it gives you the ability to see life through different “sets of eyes.” Choose to Make a Choice In life, you always have a choice. You can be intimidated when another colleague sets a record (a massive major gift, perhaps, or a game-changing bequest) or be inspired by it. You can let your hopes and dreams be thrown off course when someone rains on your parade, or you can become more careful to whom you listen. You can be stopped by an obstacle or be ready for a comeback, having been setup by that setback. You always have a choice to react or respond. The potential to be better and get better is a choice that YOU make. After all, it is your potential. Those who refuse to focus on and use the power of potential will never see fresh opportunities. When you waste opportunities to connect with and influence donors and prospective donors, you will not get to ask them calibrated questions that could deepen the relationship and get your organization that gift. FOR EXAMPLE, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO ASK: What was the best gift-giving experience you ever had, and what made it so good? Are you aware how much of an impact your generous gift could make? Let me show you what we could accomplish with your help. What would you have to see to consider getting more deeply involved with us? Likewise, you will not help yourself modify your attitude, change your efforts, and enhance skillsets that together could positively affect and greatly benefit your business, personal, and family life. If you don’t use the power of potential, you will never get to ask 3 essential questions that can help you go deep and create the new YOU: What do I do to inspire others? What do I do that frustrates others? What do I not know about my SELF that everyone seems to know? What’s Your Kryptonite? Getting feedback from those you trust will provide an important characteristic baseline, enabling you to enhance relationships, tackle problems, learn new things and promote accountability. Only when you become aware of your kryptonite can progress beget even more progress and success. Again, life is never about finding your SELF. It’s about creating and re-creating your SELF. This thought is so important that I urge you never to forget it. See the reaching in your mind. Because it’s all in your mind. Your next chapter and next story are based on your next move. Capture that thought and turn it into action. Because it’s your thought, your response is between you and your mind. Again, you determine how to use your potential. You can be average, above-average, or phenomenally successful. It’s your move. Category: Sustainability
