Recently one of my clients was at a meeting with a donor. And the donor told the Executive Director, “You must be a busy person, you don’t need to visit me. I trust you.” The leader of this wonderful organization told me he was considering taking her off his list since she trusts them and does not want a visit. “Absolutely not!” I exclaimed. There is more to this type of response than you may think.  Here are five reasons major donors give you similar &l ...Read more »

I thought a personal coach would help me to lose some much needed weight. After a few weeks, I thought, “This isn’t rocket science. I can do these exercises myself! Who needs a coach?” So I stopped using the coach and started exercising and coaching myself. Well, adding 30 pounds later, being a couch potato, eating junk, I found out that I really did need a coach. There are so many consultants available. We love to coach our clients so that they really do improve their perfor ...Read more »

Benjamin Franklin said that “any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain- and most fools do”. When working in advancement or development, it is easy to start complaining since so much pressure is placed on you and how much money you raise. So here are some Foolproof ways to keep your sanity and stay wise in this crazy fundraising world. Foolproof #1: It’s Not You In fundraising work, we can take our perceived failures as “there is something wrong with me.” Tha ...Read more »

If your ministry no longer existed in your community, what impact would it make? Would this loss displace just a few people, or would it create such a ripple effect, that the community would have to do something to lessen the impact? Of course, we want our organization to impact our community, so much so, that the people feel a responsibility to fund our work. But in many cases, this is simply not how the community feels. How do you win the community’s support and esteem? By serving the c ...Read more »

Many rescue missions receive donated clothing, household goods, and furniture to sell in a thrift store. In this day and age, everyone is looking for a bargain, so the stores can be a great way to support your ministry and help those who really need those discounted items. But this is also a time where “flipping” is the new money maker. Whether it is a house, furniture, clothing, or just stuff, people are looking for easy ways to make money. The internet is full of ideas on thrift s ...Read more »