Did you know that the word “news” actually comes from the terms north, east, west, and south? … meaning that information - positive and negative - truly does come from all over. And, in a way, advancement officers, CFOs, and consultants in the development world are newscasters, constantly delivering updates on the state of affairs in their organizations. A ...

According to author and well known life coach Shakti Gawain, “You create your opportunities by asking for them.” And the same certainly holds true for those of us in the fundraising profession. It is usually crystal clear when the time is right to ask for a gift… but equally murky on exactly how much to request. In my three ...

Money. It’s probably safe to say that this is the key topic that keeps most advancement professionals up at night. For better or worse, it allows our organizations to fulfill on our missions, keep the lights on, and pay our salaries. NPOs that are consistently meeting or exceeding their advancement goals have at least one thing in common: a palpable ...

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
A colleague here at Copley Raff constantly reminds me, and our clients, to “fish where the fish are.” By that she means to focus on the areas with the greatest potential payback and ROI. In terms of advancement “fishing,” for many NPOs, ...

As someone with key fundraising responsibilities, it is essential to know exactly where your resources - as well as deficits - lie within your organization. A constant, regardless of the mission of your NPO, is that leadership from an organization’s board of directors is a key ingredient towards advancement success. Thus, it is critical to understand how your board ...

I’m crossing my fingers here that this follow-up posting will really resonate with many advancement professionals. About a month ago, this blog featured an article about fundraising ideas so outrageous and/or inactionable that they appeared to come from a galaxy far, far away. We received a great deal of feedback that really brought the point home with examples from the ...