Blog

As we turn the page on the calendar and step into a new year, nonprofit leaders everywhere are greeted with a world of opportunity. The new year is more than just a fresh start; it’s a chance to reflect, reimagine, and reignite our passion for the causes we serve.

December is a busy time in the life of a nonprofit fund raiser. It starts with Giving Tuesday and continues with year-end appeals and gentle reminders for open 2024 pledges. Nonprofit leaders with fundraising responsibilities have a number in their heads: what do I need to raise to meet my year-end goal?

Every nonprofit organization builds its success on well-defined strategies. But what happens when those strategies, once so promising, start to show cracks? Knowing when to adjust the strategies in your strategic plan and when to give your strategy time to play out can be a critical turning point for the leadership of your organization. How can you tell if something is amiss?

Personal stewardship is key to retaining donors, especially major gifts donors. But what about other donors? ALL donors deserve shows of gratitude and a report on how their gift is changing lives.

While personalized stewardship would be a terrific way to retain donors at all levels, it is not realistic in fast-paced world of nonprofits. So how can we make thoughtful and intentional stewardship possible for donors at every giving amount?

Creating a systematic approach to stewardship could be the answer.

Two summers ago, when I was an Executive Director at a nonprofit in Portland, OR, I agreed to participate in a weeklong cycling event where we would ride over 350 miles, climb nearly 20,000 feet and camp out in various small towns over the course of the week.

Congratulations! The gift agreement is signed, and the joyful donor has made a bequest in their will. As a result, they have become a member of your legacy giving society. They are looking forward to your annual dinner and receiving the regular newsletter. But is that all there is for the next, ten, fifteen, or twenty years?

Everyone agrees that stewardship is important, but too often it drops to the bottom of the priority list for busy nonprofit professionals. Here are five overlooked ways to say thanks all year long.

Looking through my bookshelf, I came across The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. I was gifted this book in my first few months as a fundraiser when a mentor of mine slid it across a coffee table in my direction with a credulous smile and told me there’s one contingency (you’ll have to read on your own to find out!) if I decided to follow its teachings.

My partner Dana has an unusual obsession with Mount Washington. The 6,148-foot New Hampshire peak holds the world record of the highest wind speed ever recorded on land: 231 mph back in 1934.