Real Talk for Real Fundraisers

As you know, the most important job for an MGO is to build relationships with their donors. How are you going to do that without administrative support? You can’t. We hear from so many MGOs who say they’re bogged down doing expense reports, handling travel details and entering information into the database. They’re doing so much admin work they end up having very little time to talk to donors! In today’s episode, Richard and Jeff talk about the importance of what an administrative assistant can do to support major gifts and how having one actually brings in more NET revenue for an organization. Yes, you heard that right: more NET REVENUE! Even better, Richard and Jeff interview a major gift officer, Frank Mumford, from the Greater Twin Cities United Way on how he uses an administrative assistant, what specific tasks he has that person do, and how it’s helped him work more efficiently and develop relationships with donors.

You’ll often hear that fundraising professionals are “jumping ship” every 1.8 to 2.3 years in search of something better. Quite frankly, the number one reason people quit their job is because they have a bad manager or leader as a boss. Today Richard and Jeff are joined by fundraising expert, author and writer of the popular blog, “Future Fundraising Now,” Jeff Brooks. Jeff has worked with hundreds of organizations and has some great stories and interesting observations about why we seem to have such bad bosses in the non-profit sector. Best of all, we come up with some great solutions to help you and your boss become better at what they’re doing. It’s far from being a hopeless situation!

Today’s podcast episode is a little different. We’re talking about the spirituality of major gift fundraising. No, we’re not talking about religion, but we ARE talking about how fundraising has a spiritual nature to it – not with a capital “S,” but with a small “s.” Richard and Jeff explore the mystical act that happens at the moment a donor gives, and the organization receives that gift. Find out not only why we think fundraising is a spiritual endeavor, but also how you can continue to keep your heart soft and focused on the need, so you can continue to help your donors find joy and fulfillment in their giving.

In today’s episode, Richard and Jeff talk with Veritus Group's new Director of Planned Giving Services, Robert Shafis. Robert is one of the most knowledgeable, sought-out experts on planned giving in the country. And now he’s working with Veritus to help non-profits everywhere do planned giving right! Specifically, Robert highlights some of the main problems and misconceptions about planned giving, and what can be done to turn those problems into solutions. Then he offers everyone listening the opportunity to receive a free planned giving assessment.

If you think universities have it all figured out with major gift  fundraising, you’d be very wrong. In fact, at most of the higher education institutions where Veritus has conducted data assessments, they’re performing terribly. Universities have resources. They have dozens (if not hundreds) of major gift officers, researchers, and stewardship officers. And yet what we find is that they don’t have real relationships with donors and  alumni. Some of them are still raising millions if not billions of dollars… yet they could be doing so much better! In this episode, Richard and Jeff talk about their experiences with university major gift programs, tell stories about their MGOs, what their challenges are, and ultimately what can be done to turn those programs around.

Are you concerned that the donors on your file are too old? Are you scrambling to get younger donors? Don’t be. In major gifts and planned giving, the vast majority of your revenue will come from donors who are 55 and older. So why is everyone  so enamored with younger donors? This episode teaches you why older donors should be the bread and butter of your major gift program – and why you shouldn’t be anxious about finding  younger donors.

This episode sheds light on some of the craziest misconceptions we’ve heard from leaders and managers about major gifts, and what you can do as a major gift officer to help educate them and set them straight. Major gift fundraising is too important to be left to folks who don’t know what they’re doing. There’s too much riding on your organization’s future not to know how a major gift program should be run correctly. Get inspired to help your manager or non-profit leader understand how major gifts actually works.

Most of the time, when we ask a major gift fundraiser what the Return on Investment (ROI) of their portfolio is, we get nothing but a blank stare – and then a look of panic. Well, you don’t have to panic. In this episode, Richard and Jeff talk about how to calculate your ROI. They tell you what’s acceptable for a new portfolio vs. a mature one. They discuss how it should grow over time, and they let managers and leaders know it takes TIME to develop. Then they list 12 reasons why there is low ROI in many major gift portfolios. Richard and Jeff go over what you can do to avoid these pitfalls so that you can realize net revenue and ROI growth, year after year.

To serve your major donors outrageously, you have to know your programs and projects so well that you’re able to inspire those donors to make a significant gift to your organization. The most effective and best way to do that is to get to know the people behind those programs. These are the program, finance, HR, and executive team that are passionate about your organization’s mission. In this episode, Richard and Jeff have some great tips for how you can do this.

Major gift fundraising has a problem: MGOs are leaving their non-profits after only 1.8 years on the job! How can they build lasting relationships with donors that way? In this episode, Richard and Jeff discuss why people are leaving, and how managers can work with MGOs to keep successful, experienced staff intact.