In every family you can see the similarities around the Christmas table: the talent for singing, the mops of curly hair or the same lopsided smile. But there’s always the one that’s a little bit different, who doesn’t quite fit the mould and you never know if he’s going to grow up to be an archbishop or arch criminal.

Imagine Raiser’s Edge, Blackbaud CRM, eTapestry, Salesforce Non-Profit Success Pack, Microsoft Dynamics, or any of the marquis customer relationship management (CRM) systems which serve the non-profit sector, operating on their own. 

OK, so you have identified a major gift prospect. They are engaged. They love what you do. They are interested in supporting your campaign. You know who will ask. You know where and when that will happen. Just one question remains How do you know how much to ask them for?

“Why don’t we just do a campaign and raise $50 million?” True story, I once sat in a meeting when a member of the senior Executive made this statement. It was made like running a major campaign was the easiest thing in the world. Like $50 million would come to us just because we wanted it. 

Does your brand harness the power of emotion? Few businesses understand the power of emotion in branding. 

Big, hairy, and audacious. Most organisations do not have a brand strategy. As a result they are not using their brand as a lever to engage and drive preference.

Do you know your values? Quick! Name your company’s values. 
A lot of organisations don’t even have values. They were created without leadership ever taking the time to articulate what they stood for.

The advantage of very small business. 
Very small businesses are great at customer engagement. They have to be because that’s the only way they can compete. 

A lot of organisations don't know what their value prop is. And sometimes when they do, it is inconsistently expressed by people in comms, or it's not a true reflection of their fundamental value to customers. 

Bad bosses
Studies show that the number one reason people quit their job isn’t because of money but because of management. Specifically, their direct supervisor, whether that person is a manager, CEO, or owner.

Two of our Specialist Members came together to pen this feature about disruption in fundraising: No One Entity Will Change the World

On Thursday 28th February, I attended the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA) Conference in Melbourne, thanks to Benefolk.

My Top 5 Learnings (and reminders!)