Three Essential Elements of a Successful Fundraising Campaign: Element #1: Purpose

In golf they often say, the best players elevate their weakest point. For some it is making sure they drive the ball in the right spot on the fairway, for others it’s getting the ball up and down from around the green, for others it’s hitting the back of the cup consistently from three feet out. ...

When developing relationships around a common sense of purpose, time has to be your ally. The more quality time you spend with someone, the better your relationship with them will be. There is no substitute for being together in authentic ways. Nowhere is this truer than in fundraising. Even during ...

A friend recently told me that he wanted to transition from his role of CEO of an organization to a new role: Founder. I’ve known him for 15 years, and that desire intrigued me. “What do you hope to achieve through your transition?” I asked. Some of his responses were easy to understand—like his ...

A friend once asked me how long it would take to get his organization ready for a capital campaign. A rather curious question, so I asked, “Can you tell me more about what it means to be ready?” My friend, a board member, then s hared with me that the new development director had a lot of energy ...

COVID-19 has changed things. For certain COVID-19 has changed: … how we work and how we accomplish what we do … where we work and where we deliver for our customers … when we do what we do and the timeframes necessary to achieve them In many cases, COVID-19 has also changed: … what our customers ...

Anything worth doing is worth doing well and to the very best of your ability. Embarking on a fundraising campaign is no exception. Your organization’s mission and the people you serve depend on it! In this series of blogs, we are looking at the three essentials of successful fundraising campaigns. ...

Over the past several months we’ve been talking about relationships, in particular how to initiate, develop, and sustain relationships with donors. Just like any relationship, keeping donor relationships going requires special attention. Over the years, I’ve found three things to be particularly ...

Charting a successful course forward for a campaign is important. It focuses you, engages your donors, and builds your broader constituency’s ability to fulfill your mission. In last month’s blog I introduced three essentials of a successful capital campaign: articulating a clear sense of purpose, ...