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For many of us, planned giving seems intimidating—all those complex financial instruments and legal terminology. But here's the thing: the donors you need to reach, especially those born between 1965 and 1980, don't want to hear about charitable remainder trusts on your first conversation either. They want to know how they can make a real difference while being smart about their finances.

Gen X donors are hitting their peak earning years right now, and they will be the primary recipients of the Boomer estates. So, they’re thinking about legacy in ways that might surprise you. Let's break down how to reset your planned giving approach to connect with this unique generation.

Some call it storytelling; others call it an elevator pitch. Either is fine, and elevator pitches are good as long as you know that most people want to get off on the 2nd floor.

Developing a concise, compelling, and succinct message that clearly states the societal problem you’re working to address, how you will solve it, and what differentiates your work is a key factor in fundraising campaign success. Your case must be made clearly, quickly, be externally focused, and demonstrate urgency.

Summer’s erratic schedules—donors on vacation, staff taking time off, board members and volunteers unavailable—can disrupt traditional fundraising efforts. But this quieter season offers a powerful opportunity for fundraising leaders, whether they manage teams or work as individual contributors, to reset their approach by leaning into authentic, one-on-one connections. By focusing on building genuine relationships with colleagues, donors, volunteers, and board members, leaders can foster trust, inspire collaboration, and fuel long-term success in ways no strategy or tactic can match. Here’s how to use summer’s lull to cultivate meaningful connections that transform your leadership and organization.

Can you believe we’re already halfway through the year? If you’re like most nonprofit leaders, you kicked off the year with ambitious fundraising goals, detailed plans, and a whole lot of motivation to have “the best year yet!”

Now, with six months behind us, it's time to step back and ask: How are we really doing?

Remember, fundraising isn't just about year-end campaigns, online appeals, or event seasons; it’s a year-round effort that begins on day one of your new fiscal year. Taking time now to evaluate your progress can be the difference between scrambling in Q4 or finishing strong.

A mid-year review gives you a chance to:

• Assess the first six months of the year
• Identify gaps
• Re-engage and realign
• Plan ahead with purpose

My next-door neighbor volunteers as a board member for a local nonprofit organization. She and I were talking while working in our backyards. She asked my thoughts on how to make routine and often boring meetings worth her time and energy.

Her thoughts expressed a frustration that I know too well: board meetings that often feel, well, less than inspiring. As she described the predictable flow and the sense that they weren't truly digging into the meaty issues, a question popped into my head, one that I think holds the key to unlocking more engaging and impactful board sessions.

Maybe you've felt it before. That moment when you're face-to-face with a potential major donor, or standing before your board, or speaking to a community group, and despite your preparation, passion and expertise, you can see their attention drifting. You know your organization's work is transformative. You can recite the statistics. You understand the impact. But somehow, in that moment, the magic of your mission isn't communicated as vividly as you hoped it would be.

I've been there and that is why I’m excited to share some reflections from a book I have read that has helped shape my approach to storytelling. Karen Eber's book, The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories That Inspire Action and Get Results offers science-based frameworks that are easy to apply to how you tell stories about your organization’s impact and mission in action.

In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt presents a compelling case for how smartphones and social media have transformed childhood—from active, play-based experiences to phone-based, screen-dominated ones. While much of the conversation around the book has focused on youth mental health, Haidt’s research holds deeper relevance for all of us living in an increasingly distracted, hyper-connected world.

As I read, I found myself reflecting not just on childhood, but on adulthood and on how we connect with one another as family members, neighbors, colleagues, and members of a shared community. Haidt’s analysis of how technology rewires our brains and behaviors applies just as powerfully to adults as it does to kids. And in the nonprofit sector, where our work depends on meaningful relationships and shared purpose, those insights feel especially critical.

I’ve been spending an increased amount of time in The Bible over the last couple of years and continue to be struck by how much practical application to donor relations there is in the teaching of Jesus. “Ask and you shall receive” encourages us to approach a fulfiller of needs with faith and diligence. The “parable of the talents” shows the benefit of being good stewards with what has been entrusted to us, namely that more will be entrusted.

If you're anything like me, you've probably found yourself staring at a blank document titled "Case for Support" more than once in your career. That moment when you need to distill your organization's entire heart and soul, its mission, impact, and vision, into something that resonates with potential supporters.  

I've been a part of a few conversations lately about navigating the changing landscape of nonprofit communications. One theme keeps emerging: many of us are cautiously exploring how new tools, including AI, might help with fundamental development work like crafting a case for support—without losing the authentic human connection that is at the core of what we do. 

Nonprofit boards often find themselves stuck in a rut, performing the same old tasks with the same agenda month after month, with little impact. This "old work," as described by board expert Richard Chait in his 1996 article "The New Board Work of the Nonprofit Board," remains highly relevant today. I had the opportunity to rediscover this valuable resource in my files, and it reaffirmed that boards have the potential to move their work toward a more impactful and relevant approach.