By Nanette Fridman and Jennifer Weinstock Does your organization have an Executive Director or a CEO without significant development experience prior to becoming the lead professional? It is often the case that an Executive Director is hired for a leadership position based on a diverse set of skills which may or may not include development experience. Development Directors can find themselves in a difficult situation if they are supervised … [Read more...] about Development Directors Must Manage Up
donor conservation
The Thank You Letter as a Fundraising Tool
As a matter of course, Jewish nonprofit organizations send out thank you letters or e-mails to donors in response to their contributions. However, agencies may do so without always understanding the importance that an expression of appreciation has for donors. The real significance of sending a note, a letter, or even an e-mail message is often lost on many of us who work in the nonprofit sector and are constantly handling one crisis after … [Read more...] about The Thank You Letter as a Fundraising Tool
Is the Annual Letter Worth the Effort?
By Deborah Kaplan Polivy, Ph.D. I received thirty-three letters asking for an end of year donation since I began to count them in November. Of these one was from my mother’s alma mater. She died more than six years ago at age 93. She never donated during the last ten years of her life; I know because I managed her checkbook. Of the remaining 32, one organization not only sent 4 letters, but also enclosed return envelopes. I had already made … [Read more...] about Is the Annual Letter Worth the Effort?
Flexibility Out of Frustration: Diversifying Your Annual Campaign Strategy
by Amy Glazer Last June, when our office successfully closed our Annual Campaign, I celebrated for a few minutes before glancing at my colleagues and saying, “And tomorrow we’ll be at zero again!” This paradigm is what makes annual campaign fundraising a lot like the plight of Sisyphus, ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain only to have it fall back down. Every time you reach the top, you need to turn around and do the same thing … [Read more...] about Flexibility Out of Frustration: Diversifying Your Annual Campaign Strategy
Dispatch from San Francisco: Legacy Giving as a Pathway to Sustainable Jewish Communities
by Pearl Beck, Ph.D. One doesn’t need a crystal ball or even a Pew study to know that the broader Jewish community is struggling with declining rates of Jewish identification, engagement and affiliation, especially among the younger generations. These issues are raising many tough questions, among them: how do we innovate and strengthen our institutions in order to better meet the shifting needs of a more diverse and less traditional Jewish … [Read more...] about Dispatch from San Francisco: Legacy Giving as a Pathway to Sustainable Jewish Communities
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