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Professional Fundraising Certificate Program

Fundraising Resources and Advice

Social Distancing With Our Prospects: Is Six Feet Too Much?

At this point, we all are likely – and should be – following the CDC’s recommendations on social distancing. With this practice now widespread, it is only natural that we begin to think about what this means for our organizations as we work with philanthropic prospects.  While six feet is the recommendation for when we …

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2 Weeks In: A Conversation About Fundraising in Uncertain Times

Recorded: March 26, 2020 Please join instructors of the BU Professional Fundraising Certificate Program for a conversation between professional fundraisers with a wealth of practical experience and a great ability to share it.  From space travel to The Dollar Store, to estate planning and inflection points, this great group covers it all! View Webinar

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“Honey I Shrunk the List”: What Is Happening to Your Prospect Pipeline?

In the late 1980s, I loved to watch Rick Moranis search his yard for his bite-size family in the movie “Honey I Shrunk the Kids;” I particularly liked the “giant ant” the kids rode across their lawn to the back of their house. Recently, I spent some time thinking about my organization’s pipeline and realized …

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Why We Throw Holiday Parties: Know Your Team

Have you ever stopped to think about why your company throws a holiday party each year?  If you look at some 2017 statistics from Forbes’ “The Trouble with Company Holiday Parties,” it is not for the happiness of your employees since only 36 percent of employees find holiday parties fun. The intentions may be to …

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First Name Volunteer, Last Name Donor

Does your organization have volunteers?  I bet that you do.  I was recently reviewing Fidelity Charitable’s “Time and Money: the Role of Volunteering in Philanthropy”. I noticed that 79 percent of Fidelity’s charitable donors have volunteered their time to organizations in the past year.  This got me thinking — how much do volunteers factor into …

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#GivingTuesday: is it worth it?

Since their inception in 2012 with the first #GivingTuesday, Giving Tuesday campaigns have become almost required fare for nonprofit organizations to incorporate into their annual giving strategy.  But are they delivering on the promise that they once had? According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, “Giving Tuesday Appeals Raise 27% More than in 2017“, so it …

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Annual Giving Day Returns Tomorrow

Learn more about a popular 24-hour fundraising drive. When BU’s annual Giving Day began in 2014, the goal of the 24-hour fundraising drive was to benefit the myriad great causes across the University: its schools and colleges, student clubs and organizations, the Community Service Center, athletics, libraries, campus sustainability initiatives, and other areas. Over the …

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What Does It Take to Be a Successful Fundraiser?

Lou Lataif, former Dean of Questrom School of Business (previously the School of Management) at Boston University, has shared a few tips—which we have expanded upon relative to the field of fundraising. Be passionate! If you believe in a cause, it is easy to talk about it. Your prospects will be unlikely to give to …

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Building Relationships in Fundraising

Experienced fundraisers will consistently tell you, “This is a relationship business.” Their point is that giving to a cause represents an intensely personal decision on the part of the prospect/donor, and it is a choice that must be nurtured and cultivated, not rushed or forced. In the first meeting with a prospect, the watchword is, …

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Five Core Values of Ethical Fundraising

There are five core values every successful fundraiser embraces. Honesty Fundraisers shall at all times act honestly and truthfully so that the public trust is protected and donors and beneficiaries are not misled. Respect Fundraisers shall at all times act with respect for the dignity of their profession and their organization and with respect for …

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