Tips on Advanced Fundraising
- Leadership
The CEO as Chief Fundraiser: A Role That Should Never Be Delegated
By Laurence Pagnoni Our recent posts have lasered in on fundraising perennials--retention of fundraising staff, annual funds, and why donors give. Another perennial stacks up as equally worthy of thoughtful commentary, and that’s the role of the chief executive officer in fundraising. A short definition of a CEO is he or she who makes decisions. Nowadays, we recognize the value of consensus decision-making, and that’s fine. But the kinds...
Read More - Thought Leadership
How To Improve Fundraiser Retention
By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA That disturbingly high turnover rates and low morale plague fundraising professionals is nothing new. Research going back almost two decades shows this to be true. One study in particular found that the “average fundraiser stays on a job only 16 months.” In fact, just last year, author Rob Webb called on us to act on fundraising turnover right here in NonProfit Pro. The past...
Read More - Annual Funds
Reports of the Demise of the Annual Fund are Greatly Exaggerated
By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA The annual fund is an internal phrase fundraisers use to refer to the drive(s) held during the 12-months of a calendar year to raise the revenue to cover your organization’s operating expenses. Many readers of the LAPA blog have asked me if the annual fund is dead. Why are they concerned? Well, they’re aware of the declining share of US households that make charitable...
Read More - Donor Cultivation
The Secret to Why Donors Give
By Laurence Pagnoni There are many reasons we in the fundraising industry tell one another about why donors give. They are moved by your mission, they know a board or staff member, they’ve given for years, to name a few. I doubt that all of them are true, and I especially doubt that they are all true at the same point in the giving calculus for each donor. Actually,...
Read More - Philanthropy
Are You Endowment Ready?
By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA Anything worth doing cannot be done in a single lifetime. Reinhold Niebuhr What is an Endowment? Nonprofit endowments are donations pooled together and invested in the stock market. At the end of the year, a portion of this money goes to the charity, but the principal amount remains in the market. Many smaller nonprofits may think of endowments as a pipe dream, but any...
Read More - Philanthropy
Remember When?
Author: Roger Craver Agitator | DonorVoice I remember when people were in awe of email. They loved it. Until they didn’t. The convenience –the ability to communicate directly and personally in writing regardless of time zones and free of telephone buzzy signals or answering machines and fax machines—was astounding. Unfortunately, that early awe of convenience and effectiveness has now morphed into a mélange of clutter and frustration as inboxes...
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