Mar-09-2015: “Don’t fall into the trap of becoming an events-driven fundraiser. On a cost-per-dollar-raised basis, events are at the bottom of the barrel!”

Mar-10-2015: “You don’t create uncommon impact by getting donors to support your cause. You create it by aligning what you do to help them support theirs!”

Mar-12-2015: “Fundraising staff are no substitute for subject matter experts. Program staff’s passion and emotion often convey needs much more powerfully.”

Mar-13-2015: “Do you engage former board members? Although their board service is done, their passion for your cause makes them very good donor prospects.”

Mar-15-2015: “Soliciting donors year-by-year takes a lot of time and effort. Recurring giving programs expand your base while maintaining past supporters.”

Mar-17-2015: “Board members need to understand their role before they agree to serve. Communicating fundraising expectations clearly makes a great filter.”

Mar-18-2015: “Every board member can help with fundraising, but that doesn’t always mean asking. New board members can be good ambassadors and advocates.”

Mar-22-2015: “Each board member is with your organization for their own reasons. Uncover their reason and meet their needs, and they will help meet yours.”

Mar-24-2015: “To make BIG board changes you must be in synch with your board chair. Build up your relationship until you are each other’s trusted partner.”

Mar-27-2015: “If asking donors for support is tough for you, consider your motivation. Asking should feel like sharing good news, not like twisting arms.”

Mar-30-2015: “Many nonprofits struggle with under-staffing. And yet, few even try to mobilize one of their greatest resources. Learn to engage your board.”

Mar-30-2015: “Institutional Advancement in higher ed merges fundraising with all outreach including marketing & PR. What if your nonprofit did this too?”

Mar-31-2015: “Compare the net proceeds per staff-hour for your special events with that of your major gifts program. I’ll bet major gifts wins every time.”

Apr-02-2015: “Better #volunteers + better prospect + better ask + better timing = Better #fundraising. What about your major gifts program needs tweaking?”

Apr-02-2015: “How would board members engage differently if you changed the paradigm? Rather than developing a fundraising plan, develop a financing plan.”

Apr-05-2015: “When members go off the board take time to meet with them for an informal exit interview. That’s when they’ll often tell you the real story.”

Apr-07-2015: “Stories sell. The fastest way to get your board to help raise money is to teach them stories about the good your nonprofit does. ‪#‎majorgifts”

May-26-2015: “Few fundraising pros work on holiday weekends. And yet this may be when donors feel like giving. Keep in touch with donor needs. #majorgifts”

Jun-09-2015: “Checkout fundraising – requests for change at retail cash registers – raised $388 million in 2014. Who could you partner with? #fundraising”

Jun-10-2015: “Planning a major gifts campaign? As a rule of thumb a well-organized campaign can raise 10x as much as you do in a typical year. #majorgifts”

Jun-19-2015: “People give for emotional reasons with logical justification. What are you doing to stir up donor emotion?”

Jun-22-2015: “Board succession planning brings stability and predictability, and creates an environment in which Executive Director leadership can thrive.”

Jun-23-2015: “Nonprofit Budgeting 101: Don’t build programs on one-time money! Use recurring $$$ for ongoing expenses, and non-recurring $$$ for one-offs.”

Jun-24-2015: “If you rely on grant #funding avoid single-funders. Stable #fundraising = Multi-year grants w/ staggered expirations from different sources.”

Jun-25-2015: “Don’t rely on events for #fundraising. They are the “broad end of the funnel” for attracting new #donors that you solicit in other ways.”

Jun-29-2015: “On many boards, 20% of members are “A” players. The next 60% are “living dead or walking wounded”. The rest are likely on the wrong board. What are you doing to upgrade the middle group to “A’s”, and to upgrade or get rid of those in the last group?”

Jul-14-2015: “Prospect evaluation requires answers to 3 questions: 1) how much could they give, 2) how well do they know/like us, and 3) who knows them?”

Jul-14-3015: “Well-established dynamics come into play during a capital campaign. Wishing that wasn’t so won’t change anything. #MajorGift #philanthropy”

Jul-19-2015: “The best way to build a strong donor base is to establish a monthly recurring giving program. Small gifts build, and time shows commitment.”

Jul-21-2015: “When it comes to sustainable funding, catching a school of small fish beats landing a whale any day of the week! #majorgifts #fundraising”

Jul-21-2015: “”Meaningless work attracts meaningless performance.” ~ Gal Rimon This also holds true for volunteers. How are you engaging yours? #nonprofit”

Jul-22-2015: “If you report to a board, make a habit of talking with your board chair weekly. Ten mins keeps you in sync and wards off trouble! #nonprofit”

Jul-28-2015: “The Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” #Annualgiving grows to #Majorgifts.”

Jul-31-2015: “Your best prospects are usually already connected to you: donors, employees, or users of your services. They are not “out there” somewhere.”

Aug-03-2015: “Most nonprofits rely on sales and marketing to survive. However, their “customers” are their funders, not those who receive their services.”

Aug-04-2015: “Your best major gift prospects are current donors who make moderate, consistent gifts year after year. What are you doing to encourage this?”

Aug-06-2015: “Recruiting new board members? The #1 attribute is not wealth or connections, confidence or #asking ability. It’s PASSION, plain and simple.”

Aug-07-2015: “#Volunteers are twice as likely as others to #donate to charity (79.2% vs 40.4%). What volunteer opportunities do you offer? #philanthropy”

Aug-12-2015: “For #Nonprofits, more private donor “wallet share” beats more market share. It’s the opposite for #grants: Less money / more funders wins.”

Aug-13-215: “#Peer2peer #fundraising is HOT! Are you helping your supporters to engage their networks? http://bitly.com/usep2p”

Aug-14-2015: “Some donors use nonprofit overhead to measure efficiency. The overhead heuristic is a myth, debunked by this letter: http://bit.ly/oh-myth”

Aug-16-2015: “If your #nonprofit #board is not as engaged as they should be, call me. I can help you turn them into #Ambassadors, #Advocates and #Askers.”

Aug-17-2015: “Hiring donor-facing #development staff? Hire those who relate to your #donors, not those who “grew up” in a #fundraising job. #relationships”

Aug-18-2015: “If you want #board #engagement, your board has got to meet more than quarterly. Start meeting every second month then go monthly if need be.”

Aug-18-2015: “The 2015 Benchmark Study by M+R (mrss.com) finds email campaigns raise $40 per 1000 emails sent. Do you have enough prospects?”

Aug-25-2015: “From 2013-2043, millennials stand to #inherit up to $30 billion. Some of this will be left as #bequests to #nonprofits. Start planning now.”

Aug-25-2015: “When #naming a facility in return for a #donation, be sure and include a way out in case the #donor disgraces himself or your #nonprofit.”

Sep-01-2015: “Giving Tuesday: $12M in ’12, $28M in ’13, and $46M in ’14. Impressive growth, but just a fraction of the $358B raised in 2014. #philanthropy”

Sep-02-2015: “The #IceBucketChallenge raised $115M for ALS. Results in 2015 are down so far. Maintain tried, tested and true #fundraising , but experiment.”

Sep-08-2015: “December usually accounts for 31% of annual #giving . In 2014, 12% of this came in between Dec 29-31. What’s your year-end #fundraising plan?”

Sep-11-2015: “Birds of a feather flock together. #Donors know who shares their values and may also #give to your cause. Are you asking for referrals?”

Sep-21-2015: “New study shows that women are more likely than men to give spontaneously, and to organizations where they volunteer. http://bit.ly/1j3CakN”

Oct-21-2015: “Generosity by Indiegogo offers no-cost crowd-funding for nonprofits. If you have been wanting to try this, now is the time. Google it today.”

Oct-31-2015: “Millennials love nonprofits, but may not be able to make a big gift just yet. That doesn’t mean that they can’t help: http://bit.ly/1ki5xA3

Nov-09-2015: “The second gift is much more important than the first. Only 19% of new #donors give a second gift, but 63% of two-time donors give again.”

Nov-13-2015: “You can treat supporters as Donors (giving outsiders), Investors (investing outsiders), or Members (investing insiders). Which do you think breeds more commitment? Choose wisely.”

Nov-16-2015: “To get the #board invested in the #strategic plan, ask them to write down what they, personally, will do. Then build the plan around that.”

Nov-17-2015: “A hundred $100 #donors beat a $10k donor. You’ll be okay if some drop off. A few will grow to give more. And they are a legion of advocates.”

Nov-17-2015: “Per a recent study nearly 35% of #donors  seek guidance from peers, and 16% would ask a professional adviser. Referral marketing is critical.”

Nov-20-2015: “Every #volunteer has his/her own reasons for volunteering. Help meet their goals, and they’ll help you reach yours. #fundraising #nonprofit”

Dec-16-2015: “Superheroes are real. “Michael Jordan hands court settlement to 23 Chicago nonprofits” http://trib.in/1MhsVEa”

Dec-23-2015: “Your #donors may discredit themselves or your #nonprofit. This is why you need gift acceptance and naming policies. http://bit.ly/big-gifts”

Jan-21-2016: “Succession planning is critical for building & maintaining a strong #nonprofit #board. Who follows you current president? Who follows them?”

Jan-24-2016: “The only reason for your #nonprofit to run events is to attract new #donors . Once you find them switch to more cost-effective #solicitation .”

Jan-26-2016: “Successful #fundraising programs are built on simple, repeatable, scalable processes, executed consistently over time. #noneedforfancy” [/twocol_one_last]