How to you like to be thanked? A form letter that you read quickly and put with your tax records until next January, or a photograph or video that makes you smile – that you might post on your refrigerator, use as a screen saver, or share with your friends? Nonprofit organizations must follow certain [...]
Dayton often refers to his career as “checkered”. We call it fascinating. This month, he will retire from our firm, which he co-founded fifteen years ago, and become “Of Counsel,” a well-deserved title that means he will continue as a valued resource to our firm, just not on a daily basis. You can read Dayton’s [...]
It was a day that had been long awaited. As the Star Spangled Banner played softly from the St. Louis Park High School athletic field down the block, prayers were offered by Rabbi Kravitz and Reverend Allick. Campaign Co-Chairs Elissa Heilicher and Camille Schroeder were thanked for leading the Capital Campaign Steering Committee, and presented [...]
Site visits by prospective donors can be stressful. Here are 10 tips to make your next site visit successful. Before the visit, ask the visitors if they have special areas of interest or questions they wish to be addressed. Schedule the visit at your agency’s best time of day — a time when there are [...]
Have you ever considered that the process of keeping those donors and volunteers who have given to your organization over several (or many!) years is among the most valuable uses of your time and budget? Don’t quit your efforts to acquire new donors, but here are a few reasons to pay attention to those already [...]
(Very) Early Year End Fundraising Tips I know, it’s just the start of the Minnesota State Fair this week. For some reason, this time of year always starts me thinking about year end. Apparently I’m not the only one. Guidestar produced a set of year end fundraising tips that worked well in 2010 in its [...]
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and the Meyer Foundation have recently published Daring to Lead 2011, the third study in the series which began in 2001. A total of 3,000 development executives were surveyed for the study. According to MAP for Nonprofits July 27 Newswire, 225 nonprofit leaders in our region were surveyed and our regional results [...]
It was my pleasure to be one of the hundreds of people in the audience to hear Robert Egger, Founder of DC Central Kitchen, speak at the 2011 Annual Forum of the Charities Review Council. Although Egger covered several topics, the one that struck me was the impact that nonprofit transparency has on volunteers of [...]
Congratulations to The Music Man Square, which has met its goal of raising more than $900,000 in philanthropic gifts in order to meet a challenge grant issued by the Meredith and Rosemary Willson Charitable Foundation. In the fall of 2010, the foundation pledged to grant $900,000 – half of what remained on The Music Man [...]
As always, I’m intrigued by the research and writings of Penelope Burk. Her April 27 blog, “Can Big Bird Save Philanthropy?” offers hope for the future of philanthropy. Burk has for some time expressed her concern about the decline of religious conviction because of its direct correlation to philanthropy: “Donors who are actively religious give [...]
74