9 Smart Strategies to Interview Strong for a Fundraising Role

Learn what it takes to interview strong for a fundraising job!
What Interviewing for a Fundraising Job Can Teach You about Asking for a Major Gift  – and vice-versa

When I started out, I was a terrible interview. My first boss told me she hired me despite the interview!

What I learned over the years was that to interview strong you need to know – going in – what points you want to make. Then you make them, no matter what questions are asked of you.

In other words, you have to craft your own passionate “Case for Support!”

  • What is the employer’s need?
  • How will you address this need?
  • Why you?

The secret to getting the job offer is to craft an offer that someone just can’t refuse. Sound familiar? It’s just like…

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The Heart of Effective Major Donor Development: It’s Not Money

The heart of major donor development is customer service
The heart of major donor development is demonstrating impact and showing gratitude. Continually.

Everyone wants to develop a major gifts program. Or to strengthen their existing major gifts program. Why? Because they want to raise more money.

If you approach major gifts development solely from this perspective you’ll ultimately fail.

You might raise more money for a little while. But over the long-term you’ll lose more support than you gain. Because it’s not just about money.

Successful, lifelong major donor relationships are about two things:

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Borrow from Jimmy Fallon to Keep More Donors

Set aside some time to show gratitude - you'll be doubly rewarded!
Set aside some time to show gratitude – you’ll be doubly rewarded!

TYIF!

If you’re a fan of late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, you know he sets aside time every Friday night to write thank you letters. I think of it as “TYIF” (“Thank You It’s Friday). Jimmy’s notes are usually creative and thought-provoking, like “Thank you, emails that say “You have successfully unsubscribed from these emails,” for completely missing the point. One of his band members plays some soothing music that’s conducive to thank you writing – after a while, the music alone is enough to get you in a grateful, thank-you-writing mood!

What if your nonprofit did the same thing?!

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