And suddenly, it's November. And if you're in the nonprofit space, that might mean a flurry of activities and questions. What about Giving Tuesday? What about year-end giving? What about goal setting for next year? Luckily, your friends at Resolute Philanthropy are here to help. This month, I'll be re-sharing some of the most popular posts and videos on topics like individual giving, board engagement, and donor stewardship with specific tools to help you do more for your

Happy Anniversary to Resolute Philanthropy! Four years ago, I launched my consulting business and started serving nonprofits clients. Every year around this time, I take stock in what I've learned and accomplished. The big lesson for my fourth anniversary as an entrepreneur? Less is more. When I started, I wanted to do anything and everything. I wanted to take on any project at any time. Think Cheesecake Factory menu - so many options that it was hard to really expl

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, 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

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,

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

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

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

I've been thinking about nonprofit myths lately. Those stories we tell each other in the industry that seem true, that drive decisions, and that sometimes cause some harm. Here's one that I used to really believe. The ultimate goal of every nonprofit (I was told) was to go out of business because the mission has been accomplished. That story was a story of selflessness. The minute we aren't needed, we'll close up shop and go do something else with our time. Now, this

Fundraising is driven by stories. Stories from donors, volunteers, clients, board members, and community members. Stories of impact, of generosity, of triumph. But while there's no shortage of advice about how to get stories, we don't spend enough time talking about what do with the stories after we get them. For a lot of my career, I was convinced that stories were fleeting and fragile, and that the audience for my stories only wanted to hear new stories, every time.

I had a great time at the NAWA annual fundraising conference in Tacoma. As is my way, I did not take any pictures, so you'll have to trust me on this one. I learned a lot at the conference -- about board structures, staff engagement, and the connection between values and systems. But the thing that stuck with me was a comment from my friend Jesse. They said: "If one more person tells me to diversify my fundraising stream, I'm going to jump into the Sound." Now, I don't

A wise man once said "I love it when a plan comes together." And while this particular wise man was talking about a very specific type of plan (one unique to 1980s action shows*), I like to take this enthusiasm and apply it to fundraising plans. A fundraising plan is more than a list of donors (that's a prospect list, and that's another post). A fundraising plan gives your organization customized action steps to get to what you are trying to create. "Hold on, Chris," yo

One of the reasons I love nonprofits is because they are asking the big questions. What if everyone had a decent place to live? How can we help queer youth thrive, not just survive? How can we bring the arts into every classroom in our community? When so many institutions are encouraging us to stay small, scared, and quiet, asking questions like these is an act of optimism and bravery. For many organizations, these questions were present at the very beginning of their s

Last week, I heard about a nonprofit hiring their first full-time fundraiser. They wanted someone to build a program, start donor outreach, and focus on individual giving. They also wanted $1 million in their first year (from $0 the prior year). Oh, and the fundraiser would also be responsible for entering gifts in the CRM and managing that system. This organization was having some trouble finding someone to fill this role (as you might imagine). This headache-inducin