I’ve been earning my living as a professional fundraiser for almost 15 years. I’ve worked with some awesome donors and volunteers to support important causes, but I’ve often thought that the cause I’m most passionate about is philanthropy itself. I recall hearing this word for the first time when I was in my late teens. I remember thinking, “I want to be a philanthropist!” and calculating how much of the income from my retail job I could afford to give away to others. (It did not occur to me to make as much money as possible so that I would have more to give away, a strategy espoused by some in the effective altruism movement.) 

But philanthropy has gotten some bad press lately. Writers like Anand Giridharadas, Edgar Villanueva, and Rob Reich have argued there’s a hypocrisy to making your fortune in ways that harm others and then being celebrated for giving (some of) it away. They’re not wrong. How many know that Carnegie and Rockefeller were ruthless industrialists but now are mostly remembered as benevolent patrons of libraries, universities and concert halls? And sure, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have promised to direct 99% of their Facebook stock to curing every disease, ever. But should that give Facebook license to mine our data and undermine our democracy?  [Read more…]

A donor called. “Cancer,” he said from his post-exam waiting room.  “Will you come to talk to me for a few minutes?”, the donor asked.    I ran out of my office thinking “How should I act? What should I say?”

I have been raising money in the healthcare context for the last ten years.  The dream of helping people live out their lives to the fullest extent possible, overcoming the obstacles that disease, disability, and life throw at you…it is hard to imagine anything more tangible or more inspiring.  In my role as a fundraiser at San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, I get the opportunity to support healthcare professionals delivering care in many situations: from Trauma where life and death are on the line, to Social Medicine where homeless patients get help far beyond medical interventions, to the Birth Center where wonderful healthy babies are born HIV free to HIV positive parents thanks to the dedicated work of a vast network of social workers, case managers, and many others. [Read more…]

Creating a Leadership Legacy That Will Impact Future Generations

Is your organization constantly suffering from a lack of donations or inconsistent funding?  Are you passionate about a worthy cause that can’t seem to gain momentum while making an impact?  Do you need more wealthy donors, but don’t seem to be resonating with them?

There could be a hidden reason that you are totally unaware of.

If you ignore this common problem that so many non-profits and charitable organizations suffer from, your funding problems may not only continue, but they may end up getting worse. [Read more…]

There are hundreds upon hundreds of nonprofit blogs to read. While each and every one is worth checking out, some provide more value than others.

At Fundraising Leadership, we realize you only have so much time in your schedule for reading blogs.

For this reason, we’ve compiled a list of 10 nonprofit blogs you should absolutely be reading. [Read more…]

Making the ask does not follow formulas or manuals. Every case and every situation is different, and as much as you want to have a guide with every step to give, you will not find it. There are no magic formulas.

However, this is the question that many fundraisers, sellers and freelancers ask me. What do I do if …? And the truth is that this is a question that I love. They tell me, and with good reason, that the answer does not please them so much. I always tell them it depends.
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