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Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services Inc. (Oshkosh, WI) provides a variety of services to help the victims of domestic violence and to prevent violence before it starts. As the demand for their shelter services grew, they knew they needed to expand and remodel the 1908 Victorian mansion that is a home and haven to those who seek shelter there.

I recently visited with the staff of a local nonprofit organization.
We were reviewing their 2014 campaign and discussing strategies for 2015. As usual, we talked about renewals and new prospects. We also talked about where executives’ and board members’ time is best spent. How do we cultivate our closer friends now to have the right to ask for an annual major gift in a few months? This question is critical to enhancing the major gifts portion of any annual campaign, and will also be a cultivation step for future capital giving for these annual donors.
But one executive put it perfectly when identifying what’s good use of her time right now. Simply put, she said “don’t water the rocks!”
What does it mean to “not water the rocks”?

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting of non-profit leaders struggling through a slump in their capital campaign.

SENIOR CONSULTANT

Robin joined Donor By Design Group after a career of more than 30 years with the YMCA.  Robin’s passion and expertise in fundraising and volunteer, board and staff development has formed the cornerstone of her career.

Over the past seven years, it has been our privilege to work alongside an amazing team of volunteers and staff to bring the new Westport Weston Y Bedford Family Center out of the ground. On a perfect late summer evening, nearly 400 people came together to dedicate, celebrate and “cut the ribbon” on a stunning 54,000 sq. ft. Adirondack-style YMCA built in a quiet wooded setting adjacent to the Y’s 32-acre day camp. Taking inspiration from the capital campaign’s theme of “Building What Matters,” each of the evening’s speakers marked this historic event with praise for what had been built…

Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit with the rest of my Donor By Design colleagues.

Here at Donor By Design, we value “telling the kind truth.” It’s even one of the core things we believe.

How far will our leadership opportunities take us? Are we really role models and “billboards” for what our organizations stand for? Are we good at communicating why our organization is critical to the health and well-being of our community, especially in the face of opposition or skepticism?

While we spend most of our time working on major gifts, we were inspired by this story of a grassroots fundraising effort done right.

Parents at a suburban-Chicago grade school were trying to raise $350,000 to renovate a local playground and create an improved outdoor learning environment for their K-4 school. (Read more in the Chicago Tribune) Although excitement around the project was high, the end of the school year was quickly approaching and supporters wanted to sneak in a student-focused fundraiser before school let out for the summer.

As nonprofit and church leaders, we are often called upon to encourage others to give to our organization. But can taking a closer look at our own giving help us to be better at encouraging generosity in others?