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

An effective fundraising system is not just about your donors or your revenue. It's about employee retention. Recently, the Social Impact Staff Retention Report was released. It's not a lot of good news. According to the report ... 70% of the nonprofit workers surveyed are looking for or considering a new job, or will be, this year. Thirty five percent plan to stay in the nonprofit sector. And 22% are rarely or never fulfilled in their work. I'm no statistician, but

Here's a little re-gifting to wrap up 2025 Try This First is an occasional video series that I created to give nonprofit leaders some practical advice on fundraising topics. Often, we hesitate to get started on a new project or strategy because we think it needs to be perfect (or at least needs to be a major success right out of the gate). Getting started with something new can be scary - so I sat down with some of the fundraising superstars I know to talk about taking th

Lots has been written about individual giving - I'm certainly spent a lot of time writing and thinking and talking about it. It's the key to a sustainable and strong fundraising program - and it's often the type of fundraising that nonprofits shy away from. I'll save my thoughts on the importance of a cultivation plan and a stewardship strategy for another post. This time, it's all about notetaking. You might call them action items, or activity reports, or meeting notes,

While my kiddo is on a study abroad trip in Dublin, I take their car out for a drive every few weeks. Nothing major, just to make sure everything is working as it should (or at least as well as a 15 year old Mazda should work). Last week, I started the car to be greeted by the ominous clicking noise that suggests a problem has arisen. As with my experience with cars suggests, this could be a problem that ranges from the inconvenient to the expensive. I took a look at the

s we teeter on the precipice of Thanksgiving, holidays, and a new year, I wanted to share some thoughts about last week's National Philanthropy Day celebration. Thanks to all of you for reading - and for all the good work you for your organizations and missions. Last week, I attended the National Philanthropy Day celebration hosted by my local AFP Chapter (the Association of Fundraising Professionals - South Sound Chapter). While this was only my second NPD event in Washi

For me, year-end giving season was always an anxious time. There's that creeping feeling that your year-end giving strategies aren't enough - or that you should be doing something more. There's so much out there about year-end giving (advice, webinars, workshops, tips, tricks, etc.) that it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But like all fundraising, starting is the hardest part. If you're not sure how to get a year-end giving strategy up and running, here are four things you can

Fundraisers, as a rule, love to complicate things. We put barriers between the donor and their giving. (Why ask directly when we can have 15 live auction items and 25 silent auction items?). We use jargon and industry terms to define and limit acts of generosity. (Your donors don’t consider themselves to be LYBUNT or SYBUNT or annual or major.) We ask easy questions instead of helpful ones. ("Did it work?" is a different question than "Does this serve our mission and go

It’s a chicken and the egg thing. Do donors give at year end because of tax reasons / holiday reasons? Or do they give because we ask...

I wanted to start this message off with some inspirational quotes about the importance of a plan - but most of the quotes I found were...

Speed is often the enemy of effective fundraising. It's frustrating, right? Because we need the money today (if not yesterday). And...

It’s easy to get confused about donor cultivation. When it works, it seems simple, even magical. You meet with a prospective donor, start...

It’s been true since the 80’s. The A-Team has the best theme song ever. Also true since the 80’s? Individual giving is the heart of...

All my favorite TV shows are about communities. They can be about found families (Mad Men), about communities tied by place (Deadwood),...