Congratulations! Whether you’re planning a stand-alone auction or adding an auction to an existing event, these fun-filled bidding extravaganzas serve multiple purposes. They’re hard work (after all, anything worth doing takes dedication, energy and time), but well worth the effort when done well. They can help you: Raise money. Provide additional value and entertainment…
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Actually, with the most awe-inspiring transformational journeys, you feel good before, during, when and after you arrive. Why? Because you’re following something that calls to you. The siren song of the calling stirs you, continually. You, your organization, your supporters… you’re all journeying forward on a quest that takes you each where you’re pulled to…
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In Take Heed Nonprofits: The Sky is Not Falling, but it’s Cloudy we loed at trends in giving and how this might impact your strategic fundraising planning. Some of the data-based take-aways included: Less Donors and Dollars Overall Less Individual Donors — Shrinking Slice of Fundraising Pie More Foundation and Corporate Giving Focus of Giving…
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Philanthropic giving has been on a downswing for a while, but this past year’s data is notable due to distinct changes in donor behavior. I don’t want you throwing your hands up in despair. Rather, I want you to take a good hard lo at the data so you can develop a plan with strategies…
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A couple of years ago I wrote about 4 Strategies to Listen so Others Will Talk, noting the secret to building authentic relationships is to use your two ears and one mouth in that proportion.
It’s a good start, but there’s more.
You can’t just listen passively.
Active listening, supported by powerful, succinct, to-the-point generative questions – that’s what will draw you and your donor (or anyone with whom you’re in relationship) closer together.
But not all active listening is created equal. And you may think you’re actively listening, when really you’ve listened for a hot minute; then gone down your own rabbit hole of reality.
In that rabbit hole, you become the narrator. It thus becomes your story, not the donor’s.
Uh, oh.
Today we’ll explore how to draw your donor out so you truly hear their voice and sense their emotions, not your own.
This is something I value, as an outsider looking in.
I’m not good at it.
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On will makers are everywhere you lo these days. From FreeWill, Rocket Lawyer, Trust & Will and GivingDocs to the comprehensive LegacyPlanner, it feels like everyone is offering their own version. And sometimes it seems like they all just appeared overnight, too. But the truth is, the industry has been around for decades — both…
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