Bequests account for 9% of all fundraising per Giving USA. Have you allocated at least 9% of your development budget towards promoting bequests? If not, have you allocated any budget at all to this supremely cost-effective fundraising strategy? Have you been meaning to get around to doing more about building [...]
One of my favorite volunteer activities in the nonprofit sector is serving on the Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s Growth in Giving Steering Committee. The face-to-face meetings and conference calls are always insightful and thought provoking. This is especially true when those insights are cutting edge and timely in nature. This week’s [...]
It's a little known fact that planned giving has one of the highest ROIs (return on investment) of any fundraising activity, contributing to the fact that pursuing gifts from wills and trusts is rarely a key mission funding practice among the average American nonprofit. Why is this the case? In [...]
If you are a regular reader of this blog or any fundraising blog for that matter, the subject of “Major Gifts” is one of the most common. From researching the best prospects to building the relationship to making the “Ask," major gift actions are explored from every angle. However, two [...]
Many fundraisers are aware that, in light of the new tax law, donor advised funds (DAFs) should become a bigger part of a typical nonprofit fundraising operation. What may not be as well known are the ways in which some individual financial firms go beyond just setting up accounts. The [...]
One of my favorite questions to ask of donors is this: What legacy would you like to leave the world? Almost always, it prompts an interesting, engaged conversation. Even if folks have never really thought of this before, they tend to enjoy thinking about it. Note, this is quite different [...]