I was speaking to a group of nonprofit leaders last month about creating a nonprofit value proposition — how to articulate the value their nonprofit creates — and it was exciting to see the lightbulb go on around the room. Nonprofit leaders are so passionate about the work they do — it is so obvious to them […]
case for support
How to Create a Compelling Fundraising Ask [Slideshare]
There are many misconceptions about fundraising. One of which is that there is a magic bullet out there (the perfect event, a connection to a celebrity) that will create a financial windfall. Often in the nonprofit world board and staff members so despise fundraising that they desperately search for a shiny object to make it all go away. But the reality is […]
Creating Your Nonprofit's Message of Impact
Today I’m in the beautiful mountains of Hailey, Idaho speaking to a group of nonprofit leaders about how to create a message of impact for their organizations. I so often hear from nonprofit leaders about how difficult it is to convince a donor to give to their organization. They will complain that it seems almost any other […]
How Convincing is Your Nonprofit's Fundraising Ask?
Tired of the endless fundraising circuit, nonprofit leaders sometimes get frustrated when prospective donors won’t invest in their nonprofits, like this executive director: “Here’s my problem…It’s obvious these people have money, they just don’t want to share it with us.” What this executive director fails to realize is that the burden to connect the dots […]
Financing Not Fundraising: Moving Beyond Nonprofit Startup Mode
I get a similar question a lot, “We really want to move our nonprofit out of startup mode but don’t know what the right first steps are.” Although the definition of a “startup” is an organization that has been around for only a few years, there are many nonprofits that are still in startup mode […]