I just spent 3 days at the Association of Philanthropic Counsel Forum. Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang and Melissa Brown were our speakers. Expert researchers. Great speakers. And then intense conversation with an intimate group of colleagues. Not a big conference where it’s hard to have deep conversation.
I’ve raved about Adrian and Jen‘s work before. Read it now! Do you and your staff colleagues (all staff, not just the development staff) know what drives donor loyalty? Does your board understand sufficiently so it invests appropriately? Read Building Donor Loyalty by Sargeant and Jay. Read Fundraising Principles and Practice by Sargeant, Shang, and Associates. Adrian is the lead fundraising researcher worldwide.
Have you read Jen’s research about social context and social identity? And what you can do to raise more money with just a few different words and phrases? Jen is the first PhD in Philanthropy and a philanthropic psychologist.
Melissa talked about fundraising costs: We have old data only. We aren’t counting the same things. Some organizations misrepresent (or do I want to say “lie”) about their costs. The sector needs to agree together and be consistent and transparent.
