This week we are headed to the CASE Europe Annual Conference in Birmingham, England. CASE (the Council for Advancement and Support in Education), works with its members to develop stronger relationships with alumni and donors, raises funds for campus projects, produces recruitment materials, markets member institutions to students, aims to diversify the profession, and encourages the support of education.
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Read the latest from the TGC team. Below we share our knowledge, experiences, or the latest news.
New School Year + Prepared Philanthropy Officers = New Opportunities
August 15, 2017 in Acquisition, Donor Relationship ManagementWith the month of July behind us, it is inevitable that we start thinking about Back to School. While most students take the summer off, and many teachers try to leave their work behind for a few short months, Development Offices on campuses across the country are busy at work all summer long.
A few years back, a very good friend of mine and his brother decided to start a non-profit to honor the memory of their mother, who had recently passed away after a long battle with cancer. Both my friend and his brother are extremely intelligent, well educated, and have great jobs in which they are very successful. They had a fantastic idea for their organization and put together a very solid mission statement, vision statement and strategic plan.
In the business world it is vital to know what your competition is doing… ALWAYS. Vying for consumer dollars in a competitive marketplace mandates that corporate managers know exactly what their competitors are doing and how they stack up. If they produce a lesser product or service, it makes sense that they will lose the sale to the other guy.
How Flexible and Creative is your Organization?
July 10, 2017 in Leadership & Management, Marketing & CommunicationsWhile it’s not very common in the not-for-profit sector, partnerships between two organizations is becoming a more popular method of attaining a specific goal. When two groups come together, they frequently bring with them two different pools of potential donors from which to draw. In addition, the two organizations bring twice the resources (human and otherwise), the experience, and the enthusiasm. And don’t forget twice the policies, the history, and the personalities.
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Gifts of Gratitude Programs — What Works and Why
June 22, 2017 in Acquisition, Donor Relationship Management, FundraisingA TGC Informal Roundtable Discussion
In November, TGC hosted an informal roundtable with three nonprofit hospital clients to discuss their Gifts of Gratitude Programs. All three were in the early stages with only one running its program for close to two years. It was an interesting conversation and one worth sharing with our partners. Two important take-aways became clear: 1) it’s a long play; and 2) relationships are key.
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We are often asked by our clients for more resources on endowments, whether Board designated or donor restricted. Since your endowment typically is used for long-term organizational needs, a common and relatively painless way to grow the endowment is to build a strong planned giving program. Since planned gifts are received over an extended time period and, on average, often represent the largest gifts an organization receives, they make a natural revenue source to fund an endowment.
The development office’s relationship with its board has a huge impact on its philanthropic success. Unfortunately, fundraising is often a board’s greatest area of weakness. According to BoardSource, many board members are intimidated by the thought of asking for money and others are surprised they are expected to participate in fundraising at all. Yet we all know that successful fundraising is driven by a philanthropic culture that starts at the top. Below are 10 tips for making fundraising a more positive and proactive experience for your boards.