Finance

11 Best Small Business Insurance Companies for 2026
“Development” is, by definition, the process of creating and enhancing relationships with (potential) donors to ensure current and future funding; “Fundraising” is only about income generation. With “Development,” with the relationships you create, you take a major step toward ensuring future income; with “Fundraising,” income generation focuses on “now,” with no provision, no assurance, and …
Forming an LLC is a smart move to shield your personal assets from business liabilities, but that protection only holds if you keep your finances separate. One of the first and most important steps? Opening a dedicated business bank account. The choices you make early on can have a lasting impact on your business, and …
Tennessee’s vibrant mix of urban centers like Nashville and Memphis, historic small towns, and scenic rural communities means residents need banking solutions as diverse as their lifestyles. Whether you’re a music industry professional, a college student in Knoxville, a retiree in the Smoky Mountains, or a small business owner in Chattanooga, your bank should offer …

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Our apologies. Circumstances precluded our posting last week … first non-holiday week we’ve missed in five years. We continue, now, with our series on Telephone Solicitation. And, by the way, our use of that term excludes telemarketing, robocalling or whatever you call those intrusive, unwelcome calls that always seem to come at inopportune times. Telephone …
The key ingredient of an in-house telephone solicitation program is the person making the phone call. [And, btw, with all the (misplaced) emphasis on the use of social media to raise money, keep in mind that the telephone is a “social medium.”] Last week I noted that pre-call mail (snail mail or email) discusses the …
As noted last week, to optimize a caller’s effectiveness, prospects should be prepared for the call. They must know it’s coming, that they will be asked for a specific dollar figure, and what that figure will be. They must understand the need for their support, and they should (hopefully) be made to look forward to …
This posting, and the follow-ups, are all about two concepts that push my buttons. The first, “Annual Giving”, makes me grit my teeth; the second, telephone solicitation, makes me twitch in frustration…. The term “Annual Giving,” and the resulting mind-set, have become accepted as part of the environment of (mostly) educational institutions, without awareness of …
The following is a recently received email. My comments/responses are the indented paragraphs. We’re a relatively young 501c3, at about 5 years old, but have relied mostly on dues from members up to this point. Last year we participated in our state’s annual nonprofit day of giving. It is my observation that memberships/dues are not …
I had a conversation, recently, with a board member of an organization – a type of “foundation” that raises funds to support activities designed to advance/sustain their profession, who indicated that the board was “disappointed” with the total dollars that have been raised over their first few years. When the organization was first created, they …
A recent email asked: “What is a reasonable goal to ask a development person to raise for a non-profit organization? “Our Executive Director, a former college president, expects me to raise 6 to 8 times my salary in new money, which was the expectation at the college. “Have you heard of that concept before? I’ve …