I often receive questions about how to approach referrals. You always want to follow up. Leaders are network builders and connection makers. Should you call, or should you wait for an introduction? If no one answers, do you leave a message? Call back? Or none of the above? This person may not recognize your number […]
Finalize Year-End Giving
All the work you do in development from January through September is reflected in the response and activity from givers in October through December. From a development standpoint, there are two pivot points in the year at which you are trying to ask people to make a giving decision. In the first half of the […]
Ask In All Seasons
As leaders, we must proactively reach out in specific ways to people willing to give at different times of the year. Many nonprofit organizations use a fiscal year that starts in August or September and finishes the following summer. Some do operate on a budget year, otherwise called a calendar year. This distinction is important […]
Inform to Impact
Development is a journey of moving from treating everyone equally to treating everyone individually. You’re never going to do that perfectly. You’re never going to be able to treat all people individually ideally, but you always want to be moving toward that. One step in the right direction would be to use input and feedback […]
Ordinary for the Extraordinary
Missionary and evangelist Jim Elliot once wrote, “Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.” Elliot had a heart for unreached people and a passion for sharing the Gospel. For more than three years, Elliot worked with four other missionaries to orchestrate Operation Auca. The Huaorani people were an […]