Category Archives: Fundraising Tips
Go Easy On The Cheap Champagne
At a recent Pride Philanthropy leadership conference, Senior Partner Jim Lyons made use of citrus, cherry tomatoes, red beans, rice, sand, and cheap champagne to illustrate the relative importance of fundraising activities. In his variation on the “put the big things in first” illustration, the bad bubbly represented special events, which “seemed like a good [...]
The What, When, Why, and How of Feasibility Studies
The feasibility study is a frequently employed, and often valuable step for many not-for-profit organizations, especially when preparing for a capital campaign. Most experienced development professionals have been through them. So do we really need a definition? What Yes. Remember that the feasibility study is only a tool. Counting the projected financial target as money [...]
Don’t Miss The Real Reward of Employee Giving
Conducting a successful employee giving effort is typically one of the early steps in a major campaign. And while the dollars can be significant (don’t underestimate the cumulative impact of many small gifts over time), the real reward may be a bit harder to count. The ability to demonstrate the endorsement of those who know [...]
Part 3 of 3: Story Telling In Philanthropy
The third in a three-part series by Larry Warkoczeski Tools for Story Crafters One very effective tool to use in crafting a story is provided by Chip and Dan Heath in their book, Made to Stick. Based on extensive research, they have found that ideas or concepts stick where they fit six principles (SUCCESs). 1. [...]
Part 2 of 3: Story Telling In Philanthropy
The second in a three-part series by Larry Warkoczeski What is Story? One of the most succinct definitions of story is offered by the author, Robert McKee, who says “story is a living proof of an idea, the conversion of idea to action.” Storytelling is also defined by McKee as the “creative demonstration of truth.” [...]
New HIPAA Rules Impacting the Development Office
Fundraisers need to understand a handful of the provisions within the recently released HIPAA modifications: Opting Out All fundraising communication – where a gift is sought or an event invitation included – must now offer an opt-out, which “should not cause the individual to incur an undue burden, or more than a nominal cost.” Providing an [...]
Part 1 of 3: Story Telling In Philanthropy
First of a three-part series by Larry Warkoczeski As Peter crawled into the dark, dank cave, he breathed deeply. He felt like he was carrying a ton of bricks on his shoulders. In fact, he was anticipating another failure, finding no hidden treasures to help better define the past. He knew he was perceived as [...]
Engaging The C-Suite In Development: How The Senior Management Team Can Support Fundraising
As published in the Georgia Association of Healthcare Executive’s Winter Newsletter: Before we talk about fundraising, let’s consider return on investment. What is your ROI in Cardiology? Oncology Services? How about the ED, Orthopedics, or Pediatrics? What is your return on healthcare marketing? According to the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy’s Performance Benchmarks, the national median [...]
Policy, Gift Acceptance, and Organ Donation
Let me begin by thanking you for reading this far. It need not be said that policy is a less than thrilling subject. I confess to not caring to read or write it. Okay. That’s not entirely true. I can’t stand it. I once had to read a policy on how to write policy, before [...]
A Leaking Donor Pool
The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently reframed results in a fairly frightening piece. In short, for every $100 contributed to charities last year, another $100 was lost, as donors discontinued or decreased their support. The AFP analysis also revealed that charities lost 107 donors for 100 new donors they enlisted. Readers of this blog know [...]
