Archive for the "Major Gifts Fundraising" Category
SmartMoney: Dumb Article on Fundraisers
I am sick of the financial media beating up on fundraising. Every few months, some piece appears, seeming to delight in scaring donors with a horror story of an errant ratio or an unorthodox practice. But when I saw this blog called “10 Things Fundraisers Won’t Tell You” on the SmartMoney page of the Wall Street Journal site, I could take it no more. I’ve hit back (in a very lady-like way) with:
10… Read the rest- 14 April 2026
- Category: Evaluation,Foundations,Individual Giving,Major Gifts Fundraising,Trends in Fundraising
- 1 Comment
- Written by: Leslie Allen
A Fundraising Fairy Tale: What Would You Do with $5 Million?
You’re at your desk. It’s December – you’re coming down the home stretch. The fundraising year is almost over. Suddenly the phone rings. On the other end is a Google employee who tells you that the company’s charitable gift fund has money to give away by the end of the year. Would you, the Google employee asks, be able to put together a proposal for up to $5 million? And could you do it in… Read the rest
- 16 February 2026
- Category: Foundations,Major Gifts Fundraising,Nonprofit Capacity
- 0 Comment
- Written by: Leslie Allen
Major Gifts Success Requires More Than Good Intentions
If you want to raise major gifts, you need to get out from behind your desk. You know this already, but so often you are waylaid by other priorities. Suddenly another week has gone by and you haven’t seen a donor or prospect in person. You’ve hardly even made any donor or prospect phone calls. And how could you? You’ve been planning an event, writing a grant proposal, doing prospect research, putting together budgets,… Read the rest
- 25 January 2026
- Category: Fundraising General,Major Gifts Fundraising
- 0 Comment
- Written by: Ann Goldman
The Magic Number: How to Ask for the “Right” Gift
Well, it’s official. People really hate to be asked for an inappropriately sized gift. At least, that’s the case according to study released this week about the giving habits of wealthy Americans (see link below). Study participants reported that one of the top reasons they stop giving to a charity is that they are asked for an inappropriate amount, presumably an amount that is too large.
And, who can blame them? A poorly calculated ask… Read the rest- 10 November 2025
- Category: Face to Face Fundraising,Individual Giving,Major Gifts Fundraising,Solicitation,Uncategorized
- 1 Comment
- Written by: Ann Goldman
The secret to major gifts fundraising is…
The secret to asking for money in person is…there is no secret! Anyone can do it and do it well. There are no special rites of initiation, no all-important books to read. The most crucial part is getting out the door and doing it.
At a Front Range Source training we held on Tuesday night, board and staff members expressed a lot of interest in how to make “the ask” in person. So, we’ve got… Read the rest- 30 September 2025
- Category: Donor Cultivation,Face to Face Fundraising,Individual Giving,Major Gifts Fundraising,Solicitation
- 0 Comment
- Written by: Leslie Allen