Ah, "culture of philanthropy." It's a well-used and poorly understood phrase. It can be used to describe board generosity, donor retention, or staff engagement. And it's something that can apply to any nonprofit organization -- from a local, grassroots team to a national company. Beyond the buzzword, what are we actually talking about? At its core, a genuine culture of philanthropy rests on three beliefs: that philanthropy is good that it works that it’s worth the inv

If an organization wants to align around fundraising, it has to build internal habits that support the work — not just the solicitation, but the entire fundraising ecosystem. The first habit is understanding that fundraising is more than asking for money. It’s cultivation, stewardship, storytelling, and connection. It’s everything we do to help someone feel meaningfully tied to the mission and invited to support it. When everyone in the organization understands that, fundra

When an organization is navigating change, donors deserve clarity about what’s happening, why it’s happening, how it affects the work, and what comes next. The instinct many nonprofits have is to reassure donors that everything is fine even when it isn’t. That instinct comes from fear: If donors know things are challenging, they’ll stop giving. But donors are perceptive. They can sense when something isn’t being said. And nothing erodes trust faster than overly polished,

When we talk about “lapsed donors,” the first question we should ask is: Does the donor think they’re lapsed? Most of the systems nonprofits use — LYBUNT, SYBUNT, annual giving cycles — make sense to us. They help us organize strategy, segment lists, and track progress. But donors rarely think of their giving in those terms. Many see themselves simply as supporters of the mission, not as people who are expected to give every 12 months on the dot. So when someone doesn’t g

In fundraising, planning is essential — but the type of plan you build determines whether your strategy can withstand real‑world conditions. A flexible plan recognizes that even the best plan is ultimately a suggestion. It assumes change will happen: new opportunities will emerge, external pressures will shift, and some of your original assumptions won’t hold. Flexible plans build in regular evaluation points like quarterly check‑ins or midpoint reviews to ask not only "How

In fundraising, we talk a lot about capacity — a donor’s ability to make a gift. Wealth screenings, past gift amounts, and financial indicators all help us estimate what someone could give. It’s useful, but it’s only half the picture. The other half (often the more important half) is behavior. Behavior tells us what a donor actually does: How often they give How long they’ve been giving Whether they volunteer Whether they attend events Whether they consistently show up

Donor segmentation doesn’t require a massive CRM or a mountain of data. There’s a misconception that segmentation is only possible if you have sophisticated systems, advanced analytics, and deep technical expertise. And yes—those things absolutely help. But small shops can start segmenting right now with the data they already have. Because segmentation isn’t about perfection. It’s about paying closer attention. Start with the basics you already collect: When someone gave. How

If you want to prioritize fundraising, you have to actually prioritize fundraising. One of the first things I look at when working with organizations is the actual workload placed on their fundraisers. Because if one person is responsible for annual giving, major gifts, grants, special events, newsletters, social media, and whatever else pops up… it becomes nearly impossible to build a strong fundraising program. At some point, you have to take a very honest look at the w

One of the most underrated skills in fundraising — especially major giving and planned giving — is learning how to understand donor motivation. Not just why they gave once, but why they continue giving, what keeps them connected, and what kinds of programs or projects might resonate with them in the future. There are a few questions I’ve used over the years that consistently unlock donor motivation. The first is asking about their origin story. More specifically: How did

Having raised funds for more than 20 years, I can attest to the fact that there will always be turbulent seasons in our work. Sometimes it’s global. Sometimes it’s internal — an executive director retiring, a board chair stepping down, a major shift in strategy. None of this means your organization is broken. It means you’re living in the real world. That’s why stewardship matters more in these moments than in the (relatively) calm ones. Stewardship might start with a t

Fundraising is a team sport and members of your programs team play a vital role in building relationships with donors. But this doesn't mean your friends on the programs side of the shop are expected to raise funds. In fact, they might feel intimidated at the prospect of talking with donors or unsure how they can help. So, consider this a quick guide for your non-fundraising friends. If you are invited to meet with a donor, bring your expertise with you. Bring your joy,

Joy at a nonprofit event is a powerful thing. It can help energize a room full of supporters. It gives life and context to impact stories and future plans. It can be a note of optimism, hope, and even defiance. But it's also delicate. Too much of it can veer into toxic positivity or feel false. So many nonprofits are fighting for a cause against systemic, entrenched, and emboldened opponents it feels disingenuous to talk about a mission without talking about our obstacles.

Meetings with current, past, or potential donors are the heartbeat of major giving, donor retention, and meaningful relationship-building. Actively meeting with supporters moves your fundraising strategy from passive to active. But we but we don’t always define what a meeting actually is. And like many things in our sector, the definition can get a little fuzzy. Here’s how I define a true donor meeting: A donor meeting must be substantive. The format doesn’t matter (in

One of the biggest challenges in fundraising is how we think about fundraising. Here's an example A client of mine received a major gift from a foundation. It was the kind of gift that energizes a fundraising plan and seems to come at exactly the right time. It was also an unsolicited gift. No grant application, no solicitation letter. Just the gift. Much later, this client was reviewing her fundraising progress and was left feeling disappointed. She had hit her goa

Leadership lessons can be found in unlikely places. For example, Star Trek. I love an episode of Star Trek when a character brings a wild idea to the rest of the crew. Something untested, unknown, and possibly unsuccessful. The crew embraces this new idea in a flurry of activity and technobabble. They take a chance because they trust each other and assume that their colleagues are committed to the mission. This, of course, reminds me of nonprofit teamwork. Flash back

When I was a full-time fundraiser, I would read industry reports like Giving USA with some degree of apprehension. Reading about national fundraising trends made me wonder if my plans needed to change. After all, once the report was released, there was a flurry of headlines and findings: 😟 Number of donors is declining. 😟Mega donors are on the rise. 😟Giving is flat (or dropping). So I would read the reports and the analysis of the reports and try to determine what (if

Stop me if you've heard this one. You're planning a fundraising event. Maybe it’s a gala, or a breakfast, or a competitive round of Hungry Hungry Hippos. Your goal for the event is $100,000. Or 10, or 25 or whatever. But you but that dollar amount on your registration page, you invitation, you social media page. "Join us to raise $100,000 for XYX." That's your goal. But is that the goal of the actual event? If the only goal of your event is to make money, then it

There are a lot of tools and approaches that make you a more successful fundraiser. But the big one? It’s mentorship. A fundraising mentor is someone to challenge you, support you, and connect you to the bigger world of nonprofits. I know that my career, and my passion for working in nonprofits, owes a huge debt of gratitude to my first mentor, Frank Hall. Frank did more than teach me about fundraising. He showed me what it meant to be a full-time fundraiser and taught me les

The only thing I love more than an insightful report on donor behavior is an insightful report on donor behavior that supports what I've been telling clients for a while now. So you can imagine my joy upon reading Bloomerang's latest - "The Giving Signals Report: 2026 Fundraising Trends for Nonprofits." There's a lot of good stuff here, but what jumped out early on was this: "Donors are motivated less by transaction and more by meaning, identity, and the desire to make

I have a ... complicated relationship with nonprofit fundraising events. I've organized my fair share - even some that I am proud of almost 10 years later. But I also think that events are often an expensive and inefficient way to raise funds. Many nonprofits are stuck in a cycle of putting on generic events that don't celebrate their mission or engage their supporters - but make just enough money to make it difficult to pull the plug entirely. There are some remarkable n