2 min read
Don’t Share the Cost Detail
Imagine going into a store to buy a pair of shoes. This is the dialogue between you and the customer service person (CSP) helping you, after he’s brought you the shoes you requested. CSP: Would you...
Passionate Giving BlogTM
2 min read
The Problem with Giving Societies and Membership Programs
Giving societies and membership programs suppress giving from major donors.
3 min read
Are You Maintaining the Wrong Organizational Structure?
Third in a Series: Unhealthy Major Gift Practices I have seen a lot of crazy organizational structures in my 40 years of working in fundraising. And I could go into a long monologue on each example...
2 min read
Do You Understand the Major Gift Pipeline?
Second in a Series: Unhealthy Major Gift Practices Earlier this year I wrote about the major gift pipeline – the concept that everything that happens in fundraising in an organization should be...
3 min read
Wrong Thinking about Major Gifts
First in a Series: Unhealthy Major Gift Practices I went to my doctor recently and she gave me quite a lecture on practices I was engaged in that were not healthy. We covered eating, vitamins and...
2 min read
Leadership is About Influencing Culture
Third in a Five-Part Series: It’s Not Rocket Science “Culture is just not one aspect of the game… it is the game.” —Lou Gerstner, IBM’s Turnaround CEO from the 90’s A complaint that Richard and I...
3 min read
Permission-Based Asking: Celebrate
I have to admit that I find it very hard to celebrate anything. It is one of the wounds I carry. I am so focused on doing and reaching objectives that I just forget about stopping to celebrate what...
4 min read
Permission-Based Asking: The Alignment Circle
One of the biggest errors in asking is to assume that the process is linear, i.e you start at one point and, through a succession of steps, you get to the final conclusion. The steps are all in...
4 min read
Permission-Based Asking: An Introduction
Today, I’m really excited to begin a series of six blogs that will introduce a new asking model that Veritus has created. It’s called Permission-Based AskingTM. Jeff and I have a ton of energy about...
1 min read
Write Your Major Gift Message with Emotion and Heart
Maybe you’ve heard that old adage: information tells, emotion sells. I suggest you print that out and put it in front of you when you’re writing, so that you make sure you start with emotion and then...
