Fundraising Leadership ™

Executive Coaching, Leadership Training, and Personal Development

Advanced Listening for Fundraisers

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There are four listening competencies tied to the field of Process Consulting. These competencies are not exclusive to Process Consulting, however. They are essential to any form of rich, two-way, and mutual communication. These listening competencies are, therefore, relevant for anyone who intends to have a meaningful career in raising financial support for a critical mission.

Working with people with the means and intention to be generous, and doing so over time, requires a trusting relationship. Trusting relationships are built on this rich, two-way, and mutual communication. [Read more…]

Ethical Compensation and Rewards in Fundraising

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small red and gold stars scattered on a light backgroundWhen I started my first formal fundraising role at Grand Challenges Canada in November 2020, it was a strange time. I had just moved back to Toronto. The world was still mostly closed due to the global pandemic, and interacting with others in person was not really something people were doing.

In this new role, I was tasked to help raise funds for our Indigenous Innovation Initiative. It’s an incredible program looking to use an innovative approach to support Indigenous communities to develop and scale ideas and support them to solve the challenges most important to their communities. The objectives were clear and compelling, so building a case for support was straightforward, but nothing in the past two years has been easy for anyone, especially fundraisers. [Read more…]

How to Take Advantage of Grant Writing Trends

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Nonprofits were sent into a tailspin during 2020 and 2021, thanks to the global pandemic and resulting quarantines. As a result, foundation and corporate funders also pivoted to meet overwhelming needs. 

The results have upended the traditions of persuading funders to give. What are the current grant writing trends in 2022? 

Let’s dig in. [Read more…]

Tugging at Some Threads: Looking for Inspiration In All the Different Places

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The following is an excerpt from Brock’s bestselling 2020 book From the Ground Up: Digital Fundraising for Nonprofits. Hyperlinks have been added for this post for further inspiration, as well as some additional resources from Brock at the end. This article does not contain any affiliate links.

At some point six or seven years ago, I lost interest in books about fundraising, blogs about fundraising, podcasts about fundraising, presentations about fundraising, and so on. I felt some guilt about this because I know how hard my peers work to gather and share their knowledge. I wondered if it was a sign that maybe I should step away and pursue a whole new profession. I still enjoyed my work though, especially interacting with donors. I also still felt like there was so much ground for our profession to cover. So, I struck a balance by staying focused at work, while outside the office I began tugging at some threads that had been within reach for decades but never pulled. [Read more…]

The Alchemy of Trust Based Philanthropy

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Transformational growth and change are topics du jour in the nonprofit sector, and especially in the context of a much-needed shift underway towards trust-based philanthropy: a movement to create authenticity in the relationships between donors and nonprofits, to address the power imbalances inherent in them, and to build mutual partnerships between them. Due in large part to the donors with extraordinary wealth who have signed The Giving Pledge, and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in particular, it seems that so much of the focus is on the “holy grail” of giving in particular — the mega gift, the transformational gift, the gift that will deliver us and everyone we serve from the struggle.

[Read more…]

Mythbusting: The Secret to Successful Grant Writing

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A stone bust of ZuesMyth: a traditional story from early history explaining nature typically involving supernatural beings or events. 

One myth you have probably heard is about the ancient Greek myth of Zeus hurling thunderbolts from on high at Mount Olympus because he was unhappy. And when you hear thunder crashing, it’s just Zeus and his thunderbolts.

Grant seeking can feel as mysterious and magical as Zeus—like funders are sitting on high, randomly awarding grants to those who are lucky enough to be in their path. Many grantmaking organizations still operate without transparency in their review and awards processes—an old-fashioned approach that is now changing, thankfully.

Without access to the inner workings of foundation and other granting agencies, decades of speculation from nonprofit leaders, board members, staffers, and the general public led to some false assumptions about grants. In other words, myths begat more myths.

There are a few significant myths we’d like to “bust” for you today. Understanding what is true about grants will improve your skills as a grant seeker or leader of a resource development team. Here are five of the most common myths about grants with the reality and a reality check behind each. [Read more…]

When it’s Time to Go – Firing Crummy Board Members

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We’ve come a long way. Surviving the challenges of 2020 was difficult. Many nonprofits folded or were drastically injured. Some boards were frozen and lackluster in responding to the crisis we all endured. Poor performance in times of adversity will have long-lasting effects that may take years to repair, so firing crummy nonprofit board members can become necessary.

[Read more…]

Fundraisers Have Power, Too

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Meryl Streep is The Devil Wears PradaI’m sitting in an exquisitely appointed waiting room in midtown Manhattan prior to an enormous solicitation when my phone starts blowing up. My dean’s flight to JFK is delayed. She will not be making it to midtown for said enormous solicitation. But cool, I think to my clueless 27-year-old self, I can totally do this solo. I can build all the rapport, I can say all the talking points, I can listen twice as closely. It will be just like when my dean is here!

When I am ushered into the Devil-Wears-Prada-looking office, the donor is eyeing me suspiciously. There’s a huge ashtray on her desk – the size of a serving platter. Of all the intimidating things in this scene, the ashtray got to me. It said that rules and norms for mere mortals/fundraisers don’t apply to her.

She took a dramatic drag off her cigarette, continued to eye me, and then exhaled as I stood there like a dork, watching her.

“Had I known it would just be YOU, I wouldn’t have taken this meeting,” she said. [Read more…]

How to be an Effective Nonprofit Board Member

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Recently Stephen Halasnik and David Langiulli spoke on the Nonprofit MBA Podcast about what it takes to be an effective board member and what happens when a board functions with high levels of trust and candor.

It is no secret that open communication helps an organization run more effectively, but what does this look like in practice? With strategic planning and proper board culture,  nonprofits run more effectively, enabling the organization to achieve its mission.

[Read more…]

Three Skills That Make You a Better Fundraiser

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 I am having a conversation with a potential donor. I love the initiative I’m fundraising for, but the meeting is not going particularly well. It isn’t my first meeting with this person, but I don’t feel like we are connecting today.

I spent a ridiculous number of hours prepping for this meeting because I thought this guy would have many questions for me. Nope. Nada. Zilch. And I had a whole script prepared, but it doesn’t feel right anymore.

I suspect I’m losing his attention. His cell phone is face down on the table; he hasn’t picked it up yet, but he’s looking at it longingly.

Even seasoned fundraisers can have rough meetings, meetings where our plans to present our worthy work go off the rails.  Coaching skills can help during these difficult situations

Our culture seems to agree.  Coaching skills are suitable for anyone who manages people, leads teams, and … is on the frontline of fundraising.

There are three skills that make you a better fundraiser (and leader). [Read more…]