3 min read
A Major Donor Tells You How to Ask
I sat down with a major donor several weeks ago when I was in New York City. We started talking about her philanthropy, what she was trying to accomplish, what were some of her frustrations as a...
Passionate Giving BlogTM
Major Gift Officers (3)
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...
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
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...
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...
3 min read
If You Think Small, You Get Small: Four Secrets to Getting Large Gifts
I have to tell you I’m tired of it. I’m tired of hearing from MGOs that they don’t have donors on their caseloads that give high five, six and seven figure gifts. If you are an MGO and you have at...
3 min read
No Answer? Try 7 Times!
We have all had the experience. We try to contact donors and no answer. They will not answer the phone. They will not answer their email. They probably don’t open our mail. And the silence is...
3 min read
The Ideal Composition of a Caseload
Things are not going well for you as an MGO. You feel as though you are not managing your donors properly or, in many ways, you could be managing them better. You are behind in revenue and it’s time...
3 min read
Transporting Your Donor to the Scene: Take Your Donor Into the Need
It never fails. The MGO is stuck in his relationship with the donor. He can’t seem to get her engaged. He even knows what the donor is interested in, but nothing seems to be working. So I ask: “Did...
