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Jul 2011To Give…And Receive
Post by James V. Toscano When I was a young…and presumptuous….development officer, I remember saying such smart alec, cynical things about donors as“They say they don’t want to be thanked for their donation, but just forget to send them a letter.”Or “Just leave their name off the annual report, or misspell it, and you’ll see!” I was really on to something, only backwards! Development is not a one-way relationship. It is an exchange. An exchange of values. It is always two-way. Marketing expert, Armand Lauffer says, “Exchange is a process whereby individuals and/or organizations associate in order to achieve shared or complementary objectives.” In development, exchange…
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Jul 2011What Really Provokes a Donation? It Isn’t About Money!!
Post By James V. Toscano A new non-profit organization with a Board of dedicated, eager, enthusiastic true believers once asked me to review their emerging development plan. One of the first things they wanted to do, as soon as they could afford it, was to buy a mailing list of the “50,000 Richest Individuals in the United States”! Obviously well-intensioned but off on the wrong foot, they planned to write a letter to each of them, figuring that at least 10-20% would send a thousand dollars. Where did they get these assumptions? Mostly out of blind optimism about their cause. My dilemma centered on how not…
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Jul 2011The 39 Steps
Post by James V. Toscano The following is a teaching tool to be used with potential solicitors after research has been done, after ratings have been done by a committee, and after a campaign has been organized. It assumes a team of two persons making the call: a peer volunteer and a professional staff person expert in the substance of the campaign, not often a development officer. Two volunteers could make the call, but it is always better to have one peer and one professional, the president or executive director, and a board member. This is part of a larger…
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Jun 2011Results, Results, Results
A post by James V. Toscano The director of a start-up nonprofit was livid, “We worked our —— off trying to do something real for AIDS victims, and all the donations still go elsewhere…to the big boys.” What’s going on here? Certainly we’ve all heard it before, but why do, indeed, most of the major gifts go to the brand names? History, tradition, elite boards…sure. Above all is predictability of results, and, even more to the point, the results themselves. Major donors don’t fund need, they fund results, or, sometimes, the strong promise of results. Certainly there must be legitimate societal need. There must also be…
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Jun 2011The Leadership Dilemma
Post by Dania Toscano Miwa One of the things I’ve noted in my time in the Nonprofit sector is NOT the lack of leadership, but the lack of effective leadership: leaders who trust their staff implicitly with responsibilities and skills for which they were hired. Often, the President/CEO/Executive Director who lacks this trust and interferes in the work of subordinates is not as well positioned to perform these very tasks, thus sub-optimizing the overall effort. I often hear my 20’s and 30’s something peers complaining of being stifled in their careers, not being encouraged to build their skill sets to…
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Jun 2011The Courage of the Lead Gift
Post by James V. Toscano There’s a special breed of donor, possessing courage, commitment and vision, who is capable of a lead gift in a major campaign. Most donors are not. Often when asked for a major gift, the prospect responds with a question: “Who else has given?” It’s a logical request from the prospect’s point of view. There’s a cascade of implicit questions behind the one we’re asked. Who among her/his peers is leading this campaign? Who else thinks that this is such a good idea that they’re putting good money into it? How many others are on this…
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Jun 2011Welcome to the Good Counsel Blog
This blog is meant to be a resource for people working in the Nonprofit sector, with an emphasis on those working in resource development. James V. Toscano and Dania Toscano Miwa, Principals of Toscano Advisors, are the two main authors of this blog. In addition, there will be a number of guest posts from other experienced nonprofit fundraisers and opinion leaders in the sector. Comments always welcome and encouraged.