2 min read
A while back, I was scrolling through Apple News on my phone, and a headline from People Magazine caught my eye: “Carl Reiner's One Simple Question to 'Dick Van Dyke Show' Writers Changed the Way...
2 min read
Do you find that first conversation with a donor you haven’t met to be a bit, well, scary? I don’t mean shaking in your boots terrified. But enough that you have to inhale-exhale before you start...
2 min read
How many times has someone asked “How are you?” in greeting? How often was there any real interest in your answer? Now, I realize that there may be some caveats to that, especially for southerners...
3 min read
Talking is a big part of what a relationship fundraiser does. I wrote about that recently in a blog that focused on ensuring your “conversations” are not effectively serial monologues. I’m going to...
2 min read
I have some great practical advice for you. We do a ton of planning at Veritus Group. Right now, we’re working with over 150 major gift officers, so all of them are in some stage of developing their...
4 min read
You may be tired of hearing yourself write. What I mean is, that same repeated thank you message might take seconds to write, because you have it down, but you might be feeling bored out of your...
4 min read
This is the perfect time to sharpen your donor connection skills. And one area I want to focus on today is what we typically call “cold calling,” although I’d like to advocate that we rename this...
2 min read
May is already in full swing, and summer will soon be officially upon us. I spent 8 years as a development director for two non-profits in Philadelphia earlier in my career, and I loved summer....
4 min read
Recently on our team Slack channel, our coaches shared that we send a lot of these tips to our clients about how to write an effective email, so I thought it would be a great resource to share them...
4 min read
Yes, I know the phrase is “can’t see the forest for the trees,” and it calls out how we can get so wrapped up in the details that we can’t see the situation as a whole. But the opposite is also true,...
3 min read
I recently re-read an article in the Washington Post on the new phone etiquette. Their hot take? “Text first and never leave a voice mail.” And while I get the sentiment behind that, it’s not...
