General Development
Show, Don’t Tell: How and Why to Use Stories in Fundraising
A children’s museum can tell a donor that it educates 10,000 students each year—that 50% of its visiting schools come from low-income districts, that 1,200 youth participate in the “Girls …
Read More
The importance of public spaces—urban parks, multi-use green spaces, conservatories—has never been greater. Green spaces offer critical solutions to 21st-century challenges; they improve mental and physical health, enhance our air and water, attract residents and businesses, benefit local economies through increased tourism and spending, and build community as spaces of diversity and inclusion. True to their nature as “public goods,” these places benefit all.
As the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became law in December 2017, many of our colleagues have provided excellent analysis of the potential impact on the nonprofit sector. We’ve provided …
Read More
If fundraising is an art—the “gentle art of teaching the joy of giving,” as Henry Rosso wrote—then major gift officers are artists. They skillfully build relationships, ask good questions, engage …
Read More
Nonprofits lose more than half their donors after the first gift. According to the 2016 Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP), just 46% make a gift the year after an initial donation. …
Read More
The scenario: Mary Smith, a trustee, has given $25,000 consistently for several years. She’s also a member of the capital campaign steering committee. Today, the major gift officer delivered …
Read More
The Ant and the Grasshopper, one of Aesop’s Fables, is the story of the grasshopper who plays and frolics all summer long, while the ant plans and works for the …
Read More