Posted 12/3/25 When I graduated college, my first job was a sales position at a small, entrepreneurial business, and the first thing I learned was the “Elevator Speech.” After so many years in both sales and fundraising, I began to realize the value of an effective and concise message. The Elevator Speech was named for […]
Posted 9/4/25 In an earlier post, I wrote about how fundraisers should be aware and manage the expectations of donors in order to maintain long-term relationships. What surprised me, when personally making the transition from for-profit to nonprofit (sales to fundraising), was how prior sales experience impacted my career transition. Maybe the best way to
Unanticipated Expectations Read More »
Posted: 4/26/25 When I decided to take a risk in my career, transitioning from sales to fundraising in 2009, with the objective of finding more meaningful work, I was unaware that there appeared to be an unwritten rule at the time that nonprofits should be careful when considering the hire of sales professionals or others
Subtle Change In Hiring Read More »
Posted 1/26/25 As a former salesperson who transitioned to a career in nonprofit fundraising, I have discovered some unique differences in operations between both types of organizations that I did not expect. In this case, the mission. While both for-profits and nonprofits typically maintain mission statements to remain focused on the reason they exist, one
Posted: 11/4/24 When I sat down to begin writing this post, my focus was going to include more thoughts on extroverts and introverts in fundraising, but as I was writing, a related topic surfaced. In my experience, it appears that most nonprofit organizations and even businesses look for extroverts to “find new business or attract
Beware of “Churning” Read More »
Posted on 7/28/24 With over 14 years experience in nonprofit fundraising, I was surprised by something that I did not expect in my career, especially coming from a sales background. It is mostly understood that fundraising professionals are expected to be outside of the office most of the time cultivating new relationships, maintaining connections with
Fundraising Isolation Read More »
Posted: April 29, 2024 When I first started working in the nonprofit, it was for a larger United Way office. I began working on employee campaigns which typically required presenting the mission to groups of employees and asking for pledges. It was one shot at delivering a message in the hope that it would resonate
Donors Like Company Read More »
Posted 2/11/24 As a fundraiser (or sales person), have you ever sat across the table from a prospect or potential donor and feel as though you were not connecting? You could have a great pitch, one that touches people emotionally, appearing to engage them with the organization, yet still finding it difficult for them to
Left Brain or Right Brain? Read More »
Posted 10/28/23 I have moved around in my career, in both the for-profit as well as nonprofit, and have noticed a recurring theme related to these moves. When entering a new position as a fundraiser for an organization, whether large or small, newer or long-standing, I have noticed a tendency for organizations to assume that
Assess the Need to Educate Read More »
Posted 6/11/23 Have you ever been in a conversation with someone (specifically a donor or prospect in this case), and had the feeling that you were not making a connection? Something is wrong and you feel as though the prospect/donor does not understand you or makes any kind of acknowledgement to what you are saying.