To be sure that all board members will do all that’s required of them, the Planning Committee meets with them to outline the board’s role and emphasize that a visible demonstration of the board’s support is essential to “set the example” for potential leaders and donors. And, as the planning process proceeds, it’s part of …
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Financing & Loans
This piece was motivated by Renata Rafferty’s Posting of June 8: see “The-Politically-Incorrect-Guide-To-Donors” Renata’s method of “classifying” donors by motivation, which revisits a subject that doesn’t get enough attention, reminded me of a series of articles I read, many years ago, in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Those articles, based on the book, “The Seven Faces …
A couple of questions appeared in my email recently … from an organization getting ready (!!??) to plan an event, ”How do we put together and structure our event committee?” Should our board be the committee? The answer to the latter question is an emphatic “No!!” The board should not be the committee. Some key …
The grant making process is highly subjective. The vast majority of private foundations are family foundations that show up in the research resources, but that select their grantees on the basis of personal preferences. Most do not even accept proposals. Their grants are akin to individual donations, and the fact that they are grants at …
When I started my career in fundraising, in the late ‘70s, my first employer was one of the traditional capital campaign-consulting firms — one of those firms that, for the most part, only engaged in feasibility studies and capital campaigns. Like many like similar firms, there was little attention paid to the broad concepts of …
For the last 50-60 years, a Feasibility Study has been “required” before planning and/or implementing a Capital Campaign, and its basic concept and structure hasn’t changed in all that time. I contend that it’s more than obsolete, it’s counter-productive. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t first determine the feasibility of …
When the question of major gift fundraising first arises, many unsophisticated board members, volunteers and staff immediately begin talking about the “rich and famous” — with Bill Gates being the name at the top of almost everyone’s list. The wrong assumption that many people make — and one that can become a major time waster …
