Financing & Loans

Unlike all of the other planned giving mechanisms, a bequest program doesn’t require major technical expertise and specific financial instruments. It’s easy, it’s fast, it can pay off substantially, and the dollars from bequests comprise close to 90% of all planned gifts. Many non-profit organizations refuse to get into planned giving because of the perception …

A question was asked: I know that charitable organizations often have phone banks or door-to-door canvassing where the workers take a percentage of the funds they raise. Likewise, supervisors on such giving programs often also get a percentage. What is the difference if the ED also gets a percentage? In the sense that it is …

That was the first part of a question … that continued to ask: “I believe the answer to be a hard drive at research of prospective large gift donors, cultivating these prospects and obtaining a commitment or large gift. Where do general corporate and community direct mail efforts come in? Are there specific procedures for …

Development Program Evaluation is not limited to comparing the dollars raised “this” year to previous years’ totals. It’s about being sure that each/every element of your “program” is performing as desired/required … to ensure adequate funding for your services, now and in the future. The performance of a Development Program is evaluated based on Donor …

As previously noted, Donor Acquisition, requires an investment … often, a significant investment. But with many nonprofits finding finances a little tight, the question often is, “Where do we get the money?” I’ll start by examining the components of a donor acquisition mailing – the package: The carrier envelope, the letter, the return envelope and …

In my August 12th posting, I provided a link to a three-part piece on Planning Studies. In that series, I discussed how/why the Planning Study is the best way to determine what programs/activities donors are likely/willing to support, and for identifying which donors will support which program/activity. In a Planning Study you are interviewing people/donors …

There are a number of ways to categorize research on (prospective) donors. One of the obvious ways is by whether or not they are current constituents, another is whether they’ve yet been donors to your organization. For the first category, your research would be focused on identifying groups of people whose interests might suggest that …