Handling Fear of Rejection in Major Gifts

One of my ongoing fears that sticks to me in a most disturbing way is the fear of rejection.  Both Jeff and my wife will tell you that this one area is the thing that haunts me in every relationship I have, whether personal or professional.  I even make up stories in...

How Events Hurt Major Gifts… And What To Do About It

It happened again. I was in a meeting with the fundraising staff of a very prominent and successful non-profit, and the leader of the major gifts program told the familiar story of how he and his staff had been pulled away from their major gift work to organize an...

Are You Ready For Q4?

If you are not ready for Q4 – the last quarter of the calendar year, the best giving season of the calendar year, the period of time you should be bringing it all home – and not sure how you will approach all of your caseload donors, then you are behind and it’s time...

Major Gifts: A Journey, Not An Event

When you think about a journey, usually several things come to mind: There is a destination.  And the destination may not be a physical place.  It could simply be an experience, such as, “I just want to get away and be spontaneous.”  That is one kind of destination or...