Demystifying the Art and Science of Fundraising
How To Score Your First or Next Million-Dollar Gift
10 Simple Fundraising Lessons
Jim Eskin, Founder, Eskin Fundraising Training, LLC
Non-Profit Strong
Demystifying the art and science of fundraising
SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES, January 7, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ — Title: New Year, New Opportunities: Non-Profits Encouraged to Set Stretch But Realistic Goals for 2025
San Antonio, Texas – As the new year begins, many people are looking for ways to improve their lives and set themselves up for success. With the start of 2025, non-profits have a unique opportunity to start with a clean slate and set realistic goals for the next 12 months.
The beginning of a new year is a time for reflection and planning. It’s important to take a step back and evaluate what worked well in the previous year and what areas could use improvement. This is especially true for organizations and individuals who are looking to achieve success in their endeavors. By prudently scrutinizing past successes and failures, one can learn valuable lessons and make informed decisions for the future.
In addition, the start of a new year presents an opportune time to aim high and reach for the stars. Setting stretch but realistic goals and objectives can help individuals and organizations push themselves to new heights and achieve their full potential. This is a time to dream big and make plans to turn those dreams into reality.
With the start of 2025, the non-profit is buzzing with excitement and potential. The new year brings endless opportunities for growth and success, and non-profits are encouraged to take advantage of this fresh start to set themselves up for a prosperous year ahead.
This to highlight 10 pragmatic ways that non-profit leaders can more effectively ask for and secure gifts that will fuel noble missions that touch, improve and save lives, especially helping those who are struggling. These are based on proven principles of the art and science of fundraising, innovative strategies and best practices.
1. Ensure The Mission, Vision and Values Resonate
Imagine being in the shoes of donors. There are more than 1.5 million non-profits in the U.S. serving every conceivable mission under the sun. Donors aren’t choosing between the good and the bad but are forced to make difficult decisions between the good and the good. Even the wealthiest donors can’t respond favorably to every request they receive. Gather management, board, staff, volunteers and donors together for frank discussions on what makes the non-profit distinctive. What can be said about the non-profit that all those other good causes can’t? Revisit the mission, vision and values to ensure are as timely as possible in an extremely competitive resource development environment.
2. Set Stretch-but-Realistic Goals and Objectives
Be specific. Address retaining current donors and, more critically, and acquiring new supporters. The good news is that there are more communications tools to tell the story, and many are affordable for small and mid-size organizations. At the top of the list are videos that can be produced from smart devices and spread through social media campaigns.
3. Engage All in Discovering, Cultivating, Soliciting and Stewarding Donor Prospects
If you think this can be completely delegated to the director of development, staff and development committee, the non-profit will be doomed to fall short of its potential. Everyone — no matter what title or role — can make a positive contribution in telling the story and spreading the word about the good works accomplished by your organization, so enthusiastically engage all members of the non-profit family in robust advancement activities.
4. Focus on Major Gifts
Major gifts are defined differently from organization to organization and even differently within the same non-profit as it grows, but they are the surest path to success. There is the enormous infusion of momentum created by a small or mid-size non-profit scoring its first or next million-dollar gift. From that moment on, it will be viewed very differently both internally and externally. Major donors will consider the non-profit an appropriate place to donate seven-figure gifts.
5. Lead by Example
It starts with the board and management setting the fundraising chessboard for everything that follows. Any campaign or appeal begins by challenging board members and management to make personally significant gifts. Quite simply, they won’t have credibility in the community when soliciting others if they have not given at a personally significant level themselves.
6. Ask Unabashedly for Unrestricted Gifts
MacKenzie Scott has set an inspiring example by contributing $19 billion in unrestricted gifts, recognizing that recipients understand best how to put the money to good use. Too many non-profits shy away from such solicitations with self-defeating attitudes that donors won’t respond favorably. Poppycock!
Consider that people don’t designate the purpose when investing in the stock market and rely on monitoring the company’s bottom line performance. Why should non-profits be any different? Request unrestricted gifts that empower your organization to use the funds when and where needed most.
7. Prepare for the Largest Wealth Transfer in History
There are only three places that treasure chests can go to — loved ones, government or charity. Donors can typically make legacy gifts from estates several-fold larger than gifts from income, while potentially postponing any out-of-pocket expenditure. The overwhelming majority of these are charitable bequests, retirement plans and life insurance policies, so get ready for the mind-numbing $84 trillion wealth transfer from the baby boomer generation.
8. Collaborate Like the World Depends on It
There are many win-wins out there for non-profits sharing mission space. The obvious one is making joint requests that funders are more likely to support. Others include teaming up on services, programs and back-office operations. Funders love to see such collaboration.
9. Walk the DAF Talk
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have dramatically emerged as the most dynamic component of American philanthropy. The National Philanthropic Trust reported that the value of grants from DAFs to charities around the world is an astounding $55 billion — a number that no doubt will continue to grow. Just like monthly giving, your websites, marketing materials and donor conversations should highlight DAFs.
10. Invest in Fundraising Training
The return on investment is well-documented. Plainly, most professional and volunteer non-profit leaders are scared of asking for gifts because they’ve never personally experienced a genuine solicitation. So, this really boils down to fear of the unknown. Fundraising training will pull back the curtain and show that asking is both art and science that can be learned and practiced by all different personalities. All those involved in discovery, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship should receive either in-person or online fundraising training.
The non-profit — programs, services, staff and particularly the beneficiaries of the mission — deserve the best. More money means more mission. The work matters. Empower the non-profit to mightily pull its oars in achieving a stronger, healthier, happier, safer and more socially just world.
After a successful career leading advancement for three institutions of higher education, Jim Eskin’s consulting practice, Eskin Fundraising Training launched in 2018, builds on the success of his more than 250 fundraising workshops, webinars, webcasts, podcasts and board sessions, and provides the training, coaching and support services that non-profits need to compete for and secure major gifts. He has authored more than 150 guest columns that have appeared in daily newspapers, business journals and blogs across the country, and publishes Stratagems, a monthly e-newsletter exploring timely issues and trends in philanthropy. Sign up here for a free subscription. He is author of 10 Simple Fundraising Lessons, a 82-page common sense to understanding the art and science of fundraising, and How To Score Your First or Next Million-Dollar Gift, 104 pages are filled with strategies, best practices and homework assignments are available in both print and digital formats through Pathway, the book distributor, and Amazon. Quantity discounts are available to non-profits who want to share books with teams of management, development staff, board and volunteers. He is also available for customized virtual training for boards, staff, and fundraising committees. His newest customized service, Fundraising Urgent Care, offers 48-hour turnaround in addressing general strategy and tactical challenges that require immediate responses.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jim Eskin
Founder
Eskin Fundraising Training
10410 Pelican Oak Drive
San Antonio, TX 78254-6727
Cell: 210.415.3748
E-Mail: jeskin@aol.com
www.eskinfundraisingtraining.com
Links
Website: www.eskinfundraisingtraining.com
Newsletter sign-up: https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=0013yYWxIr3lUE3aWsILLLbLYfRf8jnHI-L&_gl=1*h5r3zr*_ga*MTcxNDAyNzgyOC4xNzMwMDI2Mzg5*_ga_14T5LGLSQ3*MTczMjIxNzE1NC4xOC4xLjE3MzIyMTc4MzkuMi4wLjA
10 Simple Fundraising Lessons purchase: www.pathwaybookservice.com/products/10-simple-fundraising-lessons
How To Score Your First or Next Million-Dollar Gift purchase: www.pathwaybookservice.com/products/how-to-score-your-first-or-next-million-dollar-gift
Jim Eskin
Eskin Fundraising Training LLC
+1 210-415-3748
email us here
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
