Identity and Blackness in Prospect Development

You may know Joan Ogwumike as the author for the past four years of the blog, A Researcher’s Diary, but she is also the writer of the Apra-Illinois blog as well as Prospect Research Associate at the Obama Foundation. Although small in number, Black prospect development professionals deserve an opportunity to share experiences and knowledge pertaining to diversity, inclusion […]

Inclusive communications in the fundraising and philanthropy sectors

Generations of fundraisers and NGOs have been conditioned to a very insidious formula for the way we fundraise. This formula has evolved, it has mutated, but it is still very much alive. Essentially, this formula rests on humanising the donor, and then predominantly the white donor, and on dehumanising the predominantly non-white beneficiaries and more […]

Human-centered design, design thinking

Emily Taylor writes about listening – how to do it, why it’s important, and what we can learn from it. For-profits have been listening to their customers for years – tailoring experiences and clearly communicating their offerings in ways that make it easy to understand (think of a Starbucks menu or a Uber Eats delivery […]

Nonprofits are the engines of change

Nonprofits operate in an increasingly volatile world — and a rapidly evolving digital landscape. This was true before the pandemic and even more so now. According to a 2020 nonprofit trends report, the demand for more nonprofit programs and services is rising. So what can non-profits do now to be successful? Vala Afshar looks for […]

5 Ways for Nonprofits to Tell an Ethical Story

In an effort to raise money and awareness for causes, nonprofit organizations often feel compelled to tell stories of desperate victims. Well-intentioned efforts to convey the urgency and severity of need lead organizations to reduce people to their problems. And to stand out in the crowded marketplace, organizations often conflate value with heroism, representing themselves […]

“Othering” Language akin to Poverty Porn: Is Your Nonprofit Guilty?

“Poverty porn” refers to the use of pictures, video, the written word, and other forms of communication to present participant stories through a victimizing lens. These elicit feelings of pity and motivate donors to give. These media show helpless, passive victims just waiting for someone to rescue them. While dehumanizing language may bring in funding, […]

A pinch of fairy dust and a touch of realism!

One of the most troubling facts about our industry is that the average time Development Directors stay in their roles is only 18 months! On average, a major gift takes two years to move from identification and qualification to solicitation and closure. Major Gift Officers generally require three years of activity before an optimal return […]

People who have more money can give more away

That’s a truism. You obviously have to have some spare cash if you are going to support a charity, but what makes this a particularly interesting point is the recent report from the Governor of the Bank of England, where he explains that saving deposits have increased in value by over £125 billion during the […]

Security Will Continue To Put Philanthropy At Risk — Here’s What You Can Do

Data and security breaches are only becoming more common. In the past few years, Equifax admitted that 147 million of its accounts had been exposed, and Marriott reported that the data of roughly 500 million guests had been compromised — and that’s only to name a few. Philanthropy is not immune to these attacks. After […]

10 Ways Your Brain Reacts to Uncertain Times

Volatility. Uncertainty. Complexity. Ambiguity. These four words (shorthanded to “VUCA”) describe the type of high-stress, high-demand scenarios that can rapidly degrade one of our most powerful and influential brain systems: our attention. Right now, during the COVID pandemic, we are all living in VUCA conditions. Compounding the constant health and economic concerns, we are facing […]