Let’s say you’re a new Development Director. The Executive Director of the Board says you must raise $150,000 in your first year. That amount will cover the cost of bringing you on and will give the ministry a good return on investment. “Wow!” you might think. "It's a little intimidating, but also exciting." You imagine meeting that goal and all the good it would do for your place on the team and for the organization’s mission. You are focused and ready to get st ...Read more »

The other day someone said to me, “You see the glass half empty.” The comment kind of startled me, I certainly wasn’t expecting it and it was not helpful to the conversation. Honestly, I didn't know how to react. It made me wonder why he would say that? Certainly, there is a time for self-reflection and consideration of how others see us. However, I see this trend of putting people in boxes more and more often. Because it’s easier to put people in boxes with blanket stat ...Read more »

David captured the hearts of and inspired the entire nation of Israel to join a capital campaign to build the Temple in 1 Chronicles. Is your organization inspiring your community to join your capital campaign because they believe in what you're doing? Are you still inspired by what you're doing? Sometimes I wonder if we have gotten comfortable, or afraid, or maybe even worse, apathetic. We do things that we can attain, we shoot for goals that are too low. It seems we’ve forgotten ...Read more »

“A goal without a plan, is just a wish.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery  “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it.” Abraham Lincoln We all know how important it is to plan. Yet, often we fail to act and therefore do not bear the fruit of a life lived on purpose. It’s a new year. Today is the day to start asking yourself questions that will lead you to live the life you were born to live ...Read more »

"The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people."  — Woodrow Wilson Major gift fundraising is more about listening than talking. You’ve seen it and know it's true. The fundraiser who talks too much tends to fail. At times it is hard to draw a line between expressing our passion and including people into our vision. We tend to talk more, where we feel in control and comfortable. But we soon find that we’ve left everyone behind—including the major ...Read more »

The key to your successful capital campaign is sitting in your boardroom. However, I cannot tell you if they’re ready. Sometimes I meet with ministry leaders that have forgotten the incredible opportunity the board has to impact their organization in tangible and profound ways. Many times, our boards get so focused on the day to day and other board duties. And we forget they were assembled to protect the mission and lead your organization to its fulfillment. Have you forgotten what ...Read more »

Board of Directors. Just saying this name can induce all kinds of emotion, ranging from great discouragement to great inspiration. But, as a non-profit executive director, you have a great opportunity to set the tone and strike a balance that will allow you to productively collaborate with your board in the best interest of the ministry. Here is a list of things you can begin focusing on right now to help you change the tone of your board meetings...

We, as Christians, are often afraid to say that we want to be great...somehow in our effort to pursue humility, we have confused the definition of great with arrogance...Read more »

We live in a day and age where it seems there is never enough time. I think we are starting to believe time is working against us, when really it may be a lack of direction getting in the way. Here is the thing. I meet a lot of people in this business who are passionate about what they are called to do.  Most of the passionate people I meet would verbalize that goals are an important tool to meeting mission objectives. However, the majority of those same people do not commit their goals t ...Read more »

Development officers, we are notorious for missing the point—at least I can be. It is so easy to fall into the pressure and excitement of fundraising and minimize our job to just raising money. Perhaps this is why I often run into discouragement and burnout in the field. Focusing all your efforts on fundraising for “the next big thing” is like being trapped on a gerbil wheel. You were created for more than that. Development officers are relationship builders. Imagine how w ...Read more »