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😁 Avert the pessimism spiral

Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right.” Or, as Yogi Berra put it, “ When you get to the fork in the road, take it.” Between the lines: Getting sucked into a pity party when fundraising isn’t going your way is easy. When the downside is all you talk about, that ...
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/ _CRI Blog Post, #annualgiving, #capitalcampaign, #fundraisingconsultant, #fundraisingtraining, #majorgiftfundraising, #majorgifts, #plannedgiving, fundraising, Insights, Leadership & Management, philanthropy

😎 Fundraisers please…

SMILE   TALK A LOT   LISTEN   THINK   WRITE PHONE ASK   DISCUSS   RESEACH   WING IT   BE RESPECTFUL BE BOLD   BUILD   RAPPORT   ASSUME   ACTIVELY LISTEN ASK   QUESTIONS   LEARN   HURRY   ALIGN INTERESTS INQUIRE   BE CURIOUS   JUDGE   RESPOND   DO BETTER WORK YOUR PORTFOLIO    CLOSE OFF    FIND BETTER WAYS VOLUNTEER   BE COMPLACENT   MISSION FOCUS   BE TIMID COLLABORATE   ISOLATE   WORK WITH TEAM   DOCUMENT OVER COMMIT  ...
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/ _CRI Blog Post, #annualgiving, #capitalcampaign, #fundraisingconsultant, #fundraisingtraining, #majorgiftfundraising, #majorgifts, #plannedgiving, Core Service, fundraising, philanthropy

🤹‍♂️Campaign cabinets take new shape

The nature of campaign cabinets, the beating heart of a campaign, is increasingly decentralized. In addition to your core of volunteers who meet regularly, spot players willing to help with particular people but who don’t want to attend meetings must also be considered part of the cabinet. Why it matters: While campaigns are more and more staff-driven, access to donor candidates ...
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/ _CRI Blog Post, #annualgiving, #capitalcampaign, #fundraisingconsultant, #fundraisingtraining, #majorgiftfundraising, #majorgifts, #plannedgiving, Emerging Ideas, fundraising, Insights, Leadership & Management, philanthropy

🙌 Is it a campaign or initiative

Campaign and initiatives' fundraising labels bring visceral and practical baggage for volunteers and fundraisers. Campaign implies an extensive infrastructure, lots of meetings, years of work, and a big goal. Initiative implies less of all of the above. Campaign aversion:    Many volunteers have a visceral reaction to the notion of a campaign. Seasoned volunteers have lived through campaigns and may not have fond ...
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/ _CRI Blog Post, #annualgiving, #capitalcampaign, #fundraisingconsultant, #fundraisingtraining, #majorgiftfundraising, #majorgifts, #plannedgiving, fundraising, Insights, Major Gifts, philanthropy

🗺️ Source donor wealth

Wealthy people may not be as “liquid” as you may think. The nature and location of their wealth can dramatically affect liquidity. Elon Musk showed us this when he had to liquidate billions in Tesla stock and then rallied investors to support his takeover of Twitter. Holders of Berkshire Hathaway stock, for instance, in an almost cult-like behavior, rarely sell ...
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/ _CRI Blog Post, #annualgiving, #capitalcampaign, #fundraisingconsultant, #fundraisingtraining, #majorgiftfundraising, #majorgifts, #plannedgiving, fundraising, Insights, Major Gifts, philanthropy

🏙️ Donor “street” research is essential

The go-to donor research tools are subscription services like DonorSearch, and Wealth Engine. They are the best tool you have - until they are not. We all have many examples of wealth estimates being wildly off,  high, and low. Why it matters: There is no substitute for what I call street research. Find out all you can about the donor ...
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/ _CRI Blog Post, #annualgiving, #capitalcampaign, #fundraisingconsultant, #fundraisingtraining, #majorgiftfundraising, #majorgifts, #plannedgiving, fundraising, Insights, Major Gifts, philanthropy