3 min read
When Do You Say NO to a Donor?
If you have been trained correctly as a development professional, you are donor-centered, providing outstanding customer service and essentially striving to say “yes” to donors. I mean, just about...
Passionate Giving BlogTM
2 min read
Finding that Elusive Big Gift
Whenever I attend a fundraising conference there is always at least one major gift seminar about how to find a donor who can give a six or seven figure gift. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago I was...
3 min read
Seven Keys to a Successful Major Gift Program
People often ask us what we think makes for a really good major gift program. Sometimes this question comes from their frustration with how things are currently going. Often it’s about wanting to...
2 min read
How “NO” Can Lead to “YES”
I used to hate the word “no”. Everywhere I turned people were telling me no. I have to confess that I was a pretty rebellious kid. I had trouble with authority figures, which explains why they...
3 min read
What’s Your “December Plan” for Major Donors?
It’s December, and you are coming down to the wire on whether or not you will meet your year-end goals. For major gift fundraisers, this is such an amazing (yet stressful) time.
3 min read
Time to Plan: #3 – Refresh Your Caseload
As a major gift officer, you are delivering two values. First, you are delivering value to the donor by helping her fulfill her interests and passions through her giving to your organization. Second,...
3 min read
Time to Plan: #2 – Planning for the New Year
2016 is just days away. It is not too early to start planning how you’ll be successful in the coming calendar year.
4 min read
Time to Plan: #1 – Year End Strategy
This is the first of a three-part series. We’re into December already, and there are plenty of distractions pulling you away from your caseload.
3 min read
Seven Ways MGOs Can Avoid Burnout
I talk to many major gift officers, development professionals and non-profit executives every week. Perhaps it’s the time of year, or the stage in their careers, but I’m hearing from a large portion...
3 min read
Keep the Donor Pipeline Flowing
We at Veritus Group are passionate about major gifts (you may have guessed that from the majority of our blog posts). About a year and a half ago, we branched out to start developing strategies to...
2 min read
Wishful Thinking in Major Gifts
It is an amazing thing to watch – truly amazing. Some authority figure casually decides to hire a MGO to chase what Jeff and I would call “ghosts and rabbits.” It’s wishful thinking at its best – and...
2 min read
Breaking Through the Story You Created in Your Head
I just don’t know what it is, but lately I’ve been working with many MGOs who are really struggling with confidence. Either they’ve recently had a bad experience with a donor, or a donor just doesn’t...
