How to Disrupt the Status Quo in 2023
Catalytic nonprofit organizations are those that are willing to disrupt the status quo of what’s possible in their field. In our experience,
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FIELD NOTES
Our best thinking and conversations with nonprofit leaders.
Hillary Frances
- 6 min
Three Appeal-Writing Techniques to Transform End-of-Year Giving
In 2021, nonprofits across the United States would send emails to 1,250 recipients in order to generate one donation. In other words, the...
157
Jason Smith
- 5 min
Giving and the Enneagram
Fundraising is about relationships. This is not a shocking insight. But recognizing and acting upon this reality are two different...
30
Hillary Frances
- 6 min
Mission-Driven Revenue Goals
When some of us see the calendar invite for “Revenue Goal Setting 2021” we feel a headache coming on. For some, setting revenue goals can...
50
Dan Reed
- 4 min
Barriers to Goal-Setting: Possibilities and Likelihood
Strategic planning for 2021 feels like a silly endeavor. A once-in-a-century pandemic. An election from hell. 10% unemployment. But here...
32
Dan Reed
- 3 min
The Promise and Peril of Despair
Last month, I eulogized my brother, Mark, following his unexpected death. Since then, I’ve been forced to reckon with the impact of grief...
32
Dan Reed
- 2 min
The Imaginative Few
The Imaginative Few understand that a day of inaction will be measured in weeks or months of severe consequences.
10
Hillary Frances
- 7 min
Program Evaluation for Fundraisers: An Interview with Maggie Miller
Maggie Miller is a Denver based consultant who has worked in the field of program evaluation for nearly 20 years. She is known for her...
8
Dan Reed
- 3 min
In Search of Best-in-Class
If you’re a nonprofit leader, you’ve likely endured and read others’ laments about the difficulties of the nonprofit world; we bemoan...
9
Hillary Frances
- 3 min
Meet 19 nonprofits who made a strategic investment in 2019
As our year ends, we are grateful to the 19 organizations who made a strategic investment to strengthen their fundraising plan and...
11
Hillary Frances
- 3 min
Top 10 Creative Ways to Thank a Donor
To support your efforts at donor stewardship, we’ve curated a list of our top ten favorite ways to say “thank you.” Some of them come...
27
Dan Reed
- 4 min
The Stars Coming Together...From My Hospital Bed
A guest post by Gary L. Bukowski, MA, CFRE Recently I was a patient in a local hospital, where I had open heart surgery and spent time...
45
Hillary Frances
- 3 min
How to Avoid Delegating
Take steps to eliminate the need for delegation at your organization. I had a boss who encouraged me to delegate when I felt overwhelmed....
5
Hillary Frances
- 2 min
Becoming a Pro
My first 7 years as a fundraiser were a professional development wasteland. Everything I learned was unintentional, unguided, and...
4
Hillary Frances
- 8 min
Kayla Birdsong: Building a Culture of Philanthropy in a food desert
Kayla Birdsong is Executive Director at The GrowHaus, a community-based nonprofit in Northeast Denver. We are honored to have The...
11
Hillary Frances
- 11 min
Brandon Young: Robust and Resilient: Army Ranger principles on a nonprofit development team
Brandon Young (pictured with his family) is the Chief Advancement Officer at the Tennyson Center for Children in Denver, Colorado. The...
4
Hillary Frances
- 9 min
Meet the Seed Gathering's Master of Ceremonies: Jared Mackey
Jared Mackey is Executive Director and Lead Pastor for The Sacred Grace, a family of parish churches in Denver, Colorado. We are honored...
9
Hillary Frances
- 6 min
Development Operations: mindsets and processes to save time
Development operations are the systems and practices that function behind the scenes on a fundraising team. They are things like prospect...
6
Hillary Frances
- 5 min
Missional Relationships
There is a direct correlation between our views of money and our relationship with donors. By identifying our relationship to money, we...
3
Dan Reed
- 3 min
The Problem with Ridiculous Revenue Goals
Fundraisers and magicians have nothing in common. Raising money ex nihilo, or “out of nothing” is a prevailing, yet preposterous,...
4
Dan Reed
- 5 min
How will fundraising change you?
Fundraising will change you. But will it be for the better? “the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done, but who we have...
0
Hillary Frances
- 3 min
Marks of a Professional
People my age are at the top of their professional game. Or at least, they’re riding the right wave in that direction. Mid-thirties is...
2
Dan Reed
- 3 min
The Most Important Metric: Connection
There is a moment of great disappointment all fundraisers have experienced: a donor who is capable of making a significant gift, gives...
2
Hillary Frances
- 3 min
The Lost Art of Craftsmanship
Hender Scheme is a line of leather apparel and homegoods made by a Tokyo-based craftsman whose sneakers take close to a year to produce...
7
Dan Reed
- 3 min
Are we committed to far horizons?
Much has already been written about Notre Dame but its destruction holds a lesson for those of us that call ourselves fundraisers,...
2
Hillary Frances
- 2 min
When a fundraiser is asked to donate, what happens?
Fundraising professionals are excellent at inspiring generosity in others, but what are we like as donors? If we give, how generous are...
6
Hillary Frances
- 2 min
Lessons from the World’s Top 3 Most Generous Cultures
According to Charity Aid Foundation’s report on global giving trends, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Kenya were the world’s most generous...
68
Dan Reed
- 2 min
Framing Your Cause
All philanthropic causes ultimately point to the hope of a cosmic story: the complete cultivation of a whole and rich world. The key...
2
Dan Reed
- 2 min
Beyond Causes
Why are we fundraisers? If our cause was solved, to what work would we commit? I’ve been a fundraiser for 14 years and served 3 distinct...
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