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Julie Whelan Capell | Last month in part four of this series, I discussed what to do in an ask meeting with a donor. Today, in the fifth and final installment in “Making the Ask,” I give you ideas for how to follow up with major gift donors after the ask meeting. Immediately after the […]
Julie Whelan Capell | This is the fourth post in my series on major gifts fundraising. If you need to remember what I covered in my previous posts: Here are some ideas about how to figure out who you need to meet with Here are tips on getting prospects to accept a meeting Here I […]
Julie Whelan Capell | Here we are, part three in my series on “Making the Ask.” In May, I gave you some ideas about figuring out who are your major gift prospects. In June I reviewed how to get the ask meeting and today I’ll talk about preparing for the meeting. Before I get into […]
Julie Whelan Capell | Asking for major gifts is not as hard as many people think, but it does require quite a bit of preparation. As I discussed in last month’s post, first you need to figure out who you should be meeting with. Once you have a prioritized list of qualified prospects, the next […]
Julie Whelan Capell | Asking for money. If you’re a leader (staff or volunteer) of a nonprofit, eventually you’ll have to ask people for money. It’s part of the job description. I’ve often worked with clients who want to pass this job off to their development staff. That’s okay for some prospects, but the biggest, […]
Julie Whelan Capell | I’ve been a fundraiser for a loooooong time–more than 30 years. In that time, I have heard many variations on statements like these: “Fundraisers are like used car sales people, they just talk at you until they wear you down” (that was my boss, the CEO of a large nonprofit. I […]
Julie Whelan Capell | Contributed by Julie Whelan Capell, MWA Associate It’s that time of year when nonprofits start to think about annual reports. We have a couple of clients who still do a printed one, but they are in the minority, and the reports they print are getting shorter every year. I want to […]
Julie Whelan Capell | Contributed by Julie Whelan Capell, MWA Associate Were your year-end appeal results much better than expected last year? First, let’s take a moment to celebrate your success. Your hard work, and the work of your board members and staff, paid off! Look at all those increased gifts, and all the new […]
Julie Whelan Capell | In my many years as a fundraising consultant, one of the topics I am asked to present on the most frequently is how to make the “ask.” For board members in particular, it seems asking for money is the hardest part of their responsibilities. Never mind that actually asking for donations […]
Julie Whelan Capell | Have you thought about how inflation worries might impact year-end giving this year? According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, “When finances get tight, donors tend to pare down the number of charities they support.” (Inflation-Recession worry fundraisers, 7/19/22) What can you do to make sure your organization stays at the top […]
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