You may have read or said that being donor-centric requires you to find a restricted giving opportunity that matches your prospective donor’s interests. Happily, that’s false. Your organization can provide your donor with a satisfying giving experience while your institution receives the flexible funding it needs. But the development officer/team can’t do it alone.

Humans are good at developing habits. As fundraisers, we can help donors develop the habit of giving to our organizations. Our work often contributes to building the habit loop. The result: happy donors and thriving organizations.

There’s always one. That organization whose success is the bar by which others judge your efforts. Maybe it’s another school in your athletic conference or in your state. But does that make it a suitable benchmarking target?

With the potential for major donors to shift away from endowment giving to avoid federal taxes and ensure that their contributions will be applied fully to an organization’s mission, this a great time to reconsider our approach to stewardship for donors who make current-use versus endowment gifts.