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Do you have a friend or a colleague who is GREAT at asking questions? You know, the person who always seems to just know more about the people and circumstances in their lives than others? They don't just draw you into conversation, they help you build a stronger connection through the interaction.

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with the president of a large family foundation. We had a great dialogue regarding the value of feasibility studies today. He was quite wary of studies that didn’t involve the not-for-profit staff or studies that only tested the viability of the campaign goal.

One of the more challenging aspects of annual fundraising for a nonprofit never fails to surprise me, and it’s a by-product of past success.

If you have been in fund development long enough, you may have found yourself in this situation:

Many thanks for the good wishes. My situation has deteriorated dramatically, and I’m currently in home hospice. For now all is stable. But the long-term prospects are clear and not good. And long-term for me is actually very short-term.

A big part of what I do with my non-profit clients is help them to develop and refine their case for support? What’s a “case?” It’s simply a collection of compelling reasons (both data and stories) as to why an organization is worthy of support. You’ve probably made a case for support at some point in your career – be it a letter, a grant proposal or a sales conversation over coffee.

There is a legend in baseball that one of the reasons Ted Williams was such a great hitter was due to his ability to see the seams on the baseball as it came hurling toward him at 95 miles an hour. Supposedly, his eyesight was so good, he could essentially slow the ball down, seeing the seam and curve of the ball, making it easier to hit.

Confession: I am a graduate of the Ohio State University. Having lived in Wisconsin for the past 18 years, I have endured the wrath of Badger fans and even a number of Michigan folks. Much of this comes from friends and seemingly sane people who really don’t like my Buckeyes. Even more so after the win over Michigan and 59 – 0 embarrassment the Badgers endured during their loss in the Big Ten finals to OSU. They don’t just dislike us; they hate us.