Prospects or Donors? What Should You Call Them?
There is a discussion going on about how to label the person who gives money to an organization. Is the individual a donor or a prospect? In most health care and educational institutions, the fundraising folks use the word “prospect” when speaking about donors. In...
The TED Talk Contribution to Major Gifts
If you have ever experienced a TED talk, you know that every single speaker consistently presents a topic in a fascinating and engaging way. A friend of mine recently told me that he wondered why each presentation was so good. So he researched the subject and...
Tips on Selling Anything in Major Gift Fundraising
When I used the word “sell” as in “what programs do you have to sell to your donors?” some MGOs take offense and say: “Richard, we don’t sell stuff to donors!” OK. Present it. Explain it to donors. Whatever. The point is that in major gifts, the successful MGO...
Conflicting Agendas Kill Major Gift Program
It always amazes me the way smart, responsible adults can find a way to kill, or at least smother, a very good thing. I’m talking about the case of a university in the Southern United States which has 15 colleges and one MGO assigned to each college. When I first...
The Case of the Bloated Caseload
OK, I know that the chart below will make your head spin, but here is what I want you to do. Take a look at it and note that there are only 150 qualified donors. 30 of those donors are “top value – A list” donors, and the remaining donors are split between...TOP RATED PODCAST
Twice monthly, Richard and Jeff address current topics and classic problems in major gift fundraising.
