Fundlanthropy

Tips for Crowdfunding Ambassadors

Congratulations on being recruited as a crowdfunding ambassador.  You are about to embark on a journey that, on one hand, can be thankless and tedious, but on the other, can be endlessly rewarding. In order to make your time as a Crowdfunding Ambassador the worthwhile experience that it should be, here are a few things…

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The Seven Deadly Sins of Grant Writing

Lust In one of the many great songs by Sting there’s a line that goes, “And though my kingdom turns to sand and falls into the sea, I’m mad about you, I’m mad about you.”  This is how some fundraisers feel about grants. You know who you are. You want them. You need them. You…

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Shake off that gala hangover and get back to work!

If you’re on the staff or board of one of the 27,000 nonprofits in New York City, chances are good that you’re either having a gala this spring or planning one for the fall.  My condolences. DISCLAIMER: If you’re just getting to know me, then you just found out that I consider event planning an occupational…

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Work Avoidance (and How to Avoid It)

Ever been in a meeting and wonder why you’re there? Chances are, you’re there because someone doesn’t want to work.  The average meeting is an excellent way to pass the time without getting anything done, which, sadly, is exactly what some people want to accomplish. And now, the conference call has taken unproductive meetings to…

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The Secret History of Staten Island

To most people, Staten Island is only known for a handful of things: The Ferry Wu-Tang Clan The Landfill Big Ang (Rest in Peace!) Well I’m here to tell you, there’s plenty more to know about forgotten borough.  For example, did you know that said landfill, once the largest garbage dump in the world, is in the…

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What the 990 is telling your funders

Happy Tax Day! The IRS 990 Form is one of those things that just has to get done because…well, because it has to. The harsh reality is that, other than enforcing the filing requirement, the IRS doesn’t have the capacity to do much with all of the information that they require you to provide. Funders,…

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Collective Impact: Shiny New Object or Real Solution?

Some people in the field are drinking the Collective Impact Kool-Aid like water in an oasis. Others are bristling at the thought of adding this big, hairy, complex additional thing to their already overfull plates. Who is right? This post isn’t meant to define collective impact in any great detail, nor sway opinion in one direction…

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How Watertight is Your Fundraising?

How do you know whether your organization is maximizing on its fundraising efforts? The Leaky Bucket Assessment is a quick, informal tool that measures the level of maturity of nine basic practices that contribute to (or detract from) the fundraising team’s effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity.  The Leaky Budget Assessment measures: how organizations qualify, acquire, retain…

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Why is Everyone so Afraid of Results?

There’s no purpose to this work other than to achieve results. So why are we afraid of them? Ask a service provider about intended or expected results and chances are they’ll start talking sideways about how difficult and complex it is to define success and/or impact in a measurable way. Yes, tracking results is difficult.…

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Three Questions to Ask a Prospective Donor

People talk too much.  Especially fundraisers. Fundraisers spend way too much time spouting their elevator pitch, talking about their needs, making “asks” from the podium at the gala, regurgitating the major goals of the organization’s strategic plan. Blah blah blah blah blah. Here’s a little secret: most donors don’t care much about any of that…

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