Perhaps the easiest answer is to acknowledge that leadership rarely has a fundraising background. But leaders are more likely to interact with the frontline officers. Their experience with fundraising is seeing and perhaps participating only in the cultivation and asking process. Their line of sight to the rest of the organization is limited. And it … Continue reading 5 Ways to Make the Case for the Back Office in Fundraising
How to Identify and Support Future Leaders at Your Nonprofit
All nonprofits have growth in mind. When you grow your organization, you raise more funds. You increase your impact on the community. And you spread the word far and wide about your admirable mission. The recipe for growth requires one vital ingredient you already have access to. This ingredient is leadership. You are likely an … Continue reading How to Identify and Support Future Leaders at Your Nonprofit
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 … Continue reading Identity and Blackness in Prospect Development
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 … Continue reading A pinch of fairy dust and a touch of realism!
10 Ways to Reduce Interviewer Bias
Strangers often get a bad deal when it comes to being accurately assessed during interviews. While people who are known to the hiring manager are assessed on their past performance, strangers are judged on their motivation to get the job, a bunch of generic competencies, the depth of their technical knowledge and the quality of … Continue reading 10 Ways to Reduce Interviewer Bias
Data Security in Philanthropy
As the saying goes “Data Is the New Oil” and charities and non-profits certainly hold a lot of valuable data. We collect contact details, build up donor giving histories, process payments, build up donor and prospect profiles and gain insights into very personal and sensitive information. And we do this for a vast number of individuals, … Continue reading Data Security in Philanthropy
Top 10 ways to make better decisions
Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small and mundane, such as what to wear or eat, to the life-changing, such as whether to get married and to whom, what job to take and how to bring up our children. We jealously guard our right to choose. It is central to our … Continue reading Top 10 ways to make better decisions
5 Building Blocks of Great Advancement Talent Management
James Murphy shares: "One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is why our profession has such a high rate of turnover of professional fundraisers. I often hear that the average tenure in a job for a major gift officer is 18 months. A partial answer might be that as demand for good fundraisers has … Continue reading 5 Building Blocks of Great Advancement Talent Management
Which Staff Member Has the Biggest Impact on Fundraising?
Which staff member in a fundraising office has the potential to the biggest, long-term impact? The Major Gift Officer? Sure. They bring in big gifts. Chief Development Officer? Absolutely. They have the ultimate responsibility. Planned Giving,Annual Fund, Special Events - any of these? All revenue generators. Sure. But who has the potential to have the … Continue reading Which Staff Member Has the Biggest Impact on Fundraising?
My experience of being a woman in the charity sector
Just as we all say that homogenous trustee boards lead to homogenous senior leadership and we all agree that we must tackle the balance of gender, sexual identification, ethnicity, ability and age on the Board, then we must be careful not to take our foot off the pedal just because we found brilliant leaders who … Continue reading My experience of being a woman in the charity sector
