Finance

11 Best Small Business Insurance Companies for 2026
There are many different types of recognition programs, the most effective of which are often the face-to-face variety. Sometimes, the best form of recognition is a handshake offered by the appropriate person. ==================== Another form of recognition that can touch a donor is a personal note from someone who has been impacted by the donor’s …
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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Hopefully, over the last two weeks, you haven’t been cold calling, cold writing, sending “surprise” invitations or making “cold” visits to people who may or may not have been major gifts prospects. With that in mind, we’ll finish making the distinction between a “large” gift and a “major gift.” If the person who suggested the …
“Cool” isn’t a fundraising strategy A client asked me last week if their organization should start putting QR codes on their direct mail envelopes. “Yes,” I answered, “…when you’re ready for that.” For the vast majority of nonprofits dabbling in online fundraising, there are at least ten other things you should be working on ahead …
Hoping that, between last Tuesday and today, you haven’t used the four illustrations of bad fundraising techniques, we continue with the theme/intent of this three-part posting. Once in a while, the response to the cold Letter, the cold Call, the Invitation (out of the blue) or the Visit (not preceded by the appropriate education and …
In our definition, we suggest that, no matter its size, unless a gift met certain parameters, it wasn’t “major.” We emphasize the requirement that the process that obtained the gift had to be based on a plan/strategy that included face-to-face cultivation and solicitation components, and that the gift had to significantly help in attaining fundraising …
What does every prospector need to “hit the mother lode?” A good map!! And prospecting for foundation funding is no different. Here’s the good news: with a couple of key tools, you can create your own map to lead you to some very good sources of funding. The two that top my list are annual …
An email indicated that “Our capital campaign has concluded. We’ve reached our goal, but we still have some prospects that have not been met/solicited and we have identified additional capital needs. We’re also looking at creation of a major gifts program.” = = = = = = = = = = = = = If …
Clear/concise writing is an important component of the government grants proposal development process. But, as John C. Lauderdale – the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Government Contracts (2009) – points out, there are some tried and true maxims that you should follow to write well. Two of those maxims are: Proposal quality …