Thirty years I’ve been in this business. Over 40 percent of my life. And it’s something I’m pretty passionate about. But lately, I get this feeling that all I’ve done–all the fundraising, the coaching, the training, the consulting–has changed very little. Last year, for example, there was this great ballyhoo about how fundraising had reached… Read more
Author Archives: JLevine
Birthday Fundraising
March. My birthday month. I confess I’ve never understood the ballyhoo about birthdays. After my daughter’s first child—which took 22 hours of labor before they decided that maybe a caesarean was called for—on her son’s birthday, I would give her a “birthing day” gift. But to celebrate something for which I—the birthday celebrant—had nothing to do… Read more
What do we talk about when we talk about nonprofits?
Whether I am talking with colleagues, clients, or people who take my workshops and classes, conversations frequently focus on what is wrong with our sector. Note the “our” there—it is important. We have these conversations because we care, passionately, about the work that our nonprofit clients and others do. We think it is important. We… Read more
The Only Two Ways to Fundraise
We talk a lot about the different kinds of fundraising and different kind of donors: Annual, Major, Planned Giving and Planned GiversWe divide this up and in larger shops, have directors and associate directors of….but truth to tell, there is only two kinds of fundraising: Arm’s length (or transactional) Up close (or relational) And the… Read more