Book No. 2: How To Score Your First Or Next Million-Dollar Gift
I vividly recall my late mother advising me that anybody can write a book, but you become an author when you’ve published at least two. In that spirit we couldn’t be more excited to announce the release of our second book, How To Score Your First or Next Million-Dollar Gift, to empower America’s professional and volunteer non-profit leaders to elevate their organizations to the next level of visibility, prestige and especially positive impact in filling their noble missions that touch, improve and save more lives.
This topic has been top of mind for years. We launched Eskin Fundraising Training LLC, in 2018 — as arguably the nation’s only fundraising consultancy that focuses exclusively on demystifying the art and science of fundraising, and trains, inspires and equips non-profit leaders with the comfort and confidence to overcome the fear of asking for gifts that keep far too many good causes from achieving their potential.
During an exciting career leading advancement programs for three institutions of higher education in the San Antonio region where I was fortunate to achieve landmark seven-figure gifts at each of the institutions, I was intrigued by the stark reality that so many accomplished business and community leaders who are virtually fearless in everything else they face in their professional, civic and personal lives were so terrified of asking for gifts. This led to the launch of our fundraising consulting/training practice. Since then, we have led more than 250 fundraising workshops webinars, TV webcasts, podcasts and board sessions and provided the training, coaching and support services that non-profits need to compete for and secure major gifts. We have authored more than 150 guest columns that have appeared in daily newspapers, business journals and blogs across the country, and publish Stratagems, a monthly e-newsletter exploring timely issues and trends in philanthropy. In 2019 we were proud to publish 10 Simple Fundraising Lessons.
If I pay you $1 million for your home despite its condition, that’s exactly what it would be worth. The same is true when your non-profit earns its first or next million-dollar gift. Everything changes in the way you are viewed both internally and externally. No matter how long it took to receive that first million-dollar gift, you can be assured that the next one will come much faster.
Our book presents in friendly terms how the foundational processes of discovery, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship are essentially the same in securing gifts of $1,000 and $1 million.
The book opens with detailed accounts of work with four million-dollar-plus donors with very different backgrounds, motivations and philanthropic visions for improving the world. The results were the same concluding with non-profits aligning visions, priorities and values with philanthropists to produce good works.
How To Score Your First or Next Million-Dollar Gift, 104 pages filled with strategies, best practices and homework assignments, will be available in September on the Eskin Fundraising Training website and Amazon. Quantity discounts are available to non-profits who want to share books with teams of management, development staff, board and volunteers.
Raison D'Etre
This is French for “reason for being.” We’re proud to say we’ve identified and stuck with our raison d’etre since Day One. Eskin Fundraising Training, LLC, has one mission and one mission only: Empower our learning community of professional and volunteer non-profit leaders to more robustly develop resources that champion their noble missions which touch, improve and save more lives, especially helping those who are struggling. Here’s good news: Each and every day has enriched our understanding of the challenges and opportunities in front of us. Ours is a relentless commitment to continuous process improvement. That’s the fun part — we learn something every day that strengthens our foundation. Our learning community of non-profit leaders and mentors in the philanthropy world make this possible. Since the pandemic when the non-profit sector stepped up to help America face one of the worst crises in memory, our mantra has proudly been: Non-Profit Strong as shown in the trademarked logo. We’d like to bring two resources to your attention: a guest blog from Major Gifts Ramp-Up and a 10-minute video, both addressing overcoming the fear of fundraising. Make no mistake about it — you can overcome the fear of fundraising just like we’ve seen thousands of others do it. Let us know what you think of these resources, especially lessons that can be added.
Upbeat Data
Q1 fundraising performance indicates that the sector has reverted to the trends seen in 2021 and 2022 of large donors driving growth in the sector. Compared to the same quarter last year, when major donors drove an outsized decline in dollars and donor retention, this group is now responsible for the increase in dollars raised. Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s latest quarterly data shows the growing variability and irregularity evident in the social sector: including an over-reliance on large donors, fluctuating year-over-year retention rates, and an increased focus on international aid and relief campaigns. However, there is cause for cautious optimism as the negative trends that we have seen since the pandemic are stabilizing across all metrics. According to FEP’s latest quarterly data, we are seeing a slower rate of decline in donor numbers and retention rates, as well as a slight increase in dollars raised, reflecting positive growth despite ongoing challenges in the sector. This trend suggests that while the sector has made strides in our fundraising efforts, there are still persistent challenges with donor engagement and retention. The gradual improvement offers a glimmer of hope for a more robust and resilient giving environment in the future.
Philanthropist-In-Chief
He’s back! Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a new $600 million gift from Michael Bloomberg to help bolster the endowments of the nation’s four historically Black medical schools: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine. Seed funding will also be given to support the creation of the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine, a new medical school in New Orleans. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ investment is part of its Greenwood Initiative — an effort that seeks to advance racial wealth equity including addressing systemic underinvestment in Black institutions and communities. The funding will fuel the historically Black medical schools’ long-established commitments to diversifying the medical field and training the next generation of doctors. Increasing the schools’ endowments will strengthen their financial stability and institutional capacity to respond to the rising costs of tuition, innovative research, and operations. This comes on the heels of Bloomberg’s historic $1 billion gift to John Hopkins Medical School.
Giving In a Heated Political Cycle
Americans are deeply divided along progressive and conservative lines when it comes to politics and often even the non-profits they support. But exclusive data from The NonProfit Times shows there are Americans who give to both types of organizations, say a Second Amendment non-profit and to public broadcasting. Some donors also give to both Democrat and Republican political candidates. The data shows those donors give significantly more than single ideology donors. An overlap donor tends to be married, averages 72.6 years old, has less income than most single ideology donors but tends to give thousands of dollars more than the more siloed advocates. While the percentage of overlap donors is in the low single digitals, it is clear they are an easily identifiable group of donors who spread a much greater than average amount of their funds across a wider swath of organizations. This group, however, is aging out of the donor pool.
Champion
Gabby Thomas secured the highest number of medals in the track and field events for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her drive goes beyond the track — with a degree from Harvard in neurobiology and global health and a master’s in epidemiology from the University of Texas. Thomas says that her knowledge of neurobiology is a significant factor in her success in track and field. Gabby is also a non-profit champion and has been working at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic in Austin and hopes to widen access to healthcare for marginalized communities. She is a director of the clinic’s hypertension-prevention program, helping monitor a group of prediabetic patients and ensuring they get the medications and support they need. Gabby’s mother, Jennifer Randall, sums it up perfectly: “Gabby’s work is going to save the most marginalized and oppressed people. That’s the legacy she’s going to leave.”
A Truly Special Event
I’m not normally a big fan of special events, but Rhanda Luna, co-host of our webinar series and proudly the Millennial side of my brain, has brought an exceptional project to our attention. As Director of Corporate Giving and Events for SAFE, she is working on Touch-a-Truck, that features a wide array of vehicles from fire trucks and ambulances to backhoes and bulldozers (even helicopter is in this year’s line-up), allowing kids of all ages to touch, explore and climb away to their hearts’ content. This year’s event will also feature activities throughout the stadium concourse, including face painting, arts and crafts, a petting zoo, bounce houses, and more. Over 8,000 kids and parents will head to Q2 Stadium on Saturday, September 14th and touch vehicles for a good cause. This absolutely qualifies as a truly special event.
Hall of Shame
We continue to be spellbound, but not surprised by the inspiring words of Jim Langley, President, Langley Innovations. Time after time, he shows his wisdom, experience and deep insights on what works and doesn’t work. He always leaves us thinking. Most recent example are the following 10 worst practices that he would enshrine in the Hall of Shame. Ignore his advice and counsel at your own peril.
- The ambush ask or anything that misleads or fails to inform the donor about the purpose of the meeting.
- Invoicing donors for what you expect to be their annual commitment.
- Announcing “it’s that time” for a year-end or giving day appeals.
- Asserting that donors “should” give.
- Saying you “raised” what donors gave without your help.
- Blaming donors for your fundraising disappointments.
- Believing donors need to be educated about the importance of your mission, but you don’t need to be about theirs.
- Automating thanking to the point of depersonalization.
- Lecturing donors on the importance of giving, not on what you will be delivering if they do.
- Assigning scut work to your volunteers.
Outsmarting Smartphone
Three University of Connecticut Business affiliated researchers verified that there is a substantial “mobile giving gap” between smartphone users and users of traditional computers; but they also discovered an easy and cost-effective solution. Their research, titled “The Mobile Giving Gap: The Negative Impact of Smartphones on Donation Behavior,”‘ was published by the Journal of Consumer Psychology. The investigation of how consumers behave on their smartphones is of growing interest to marketers because the typical user now spends three hours and 15 minutes a day on the device. Furthermore, some 15% of the population no longer uses a traditional computer but conducts all business on a smartphone. The researchers had heard anecdotal evidence from charities, including many they spoke with in Connecticut that their efforts weren’t getting strong responses on smartphones. Their first task was to figure out why. Professors Herd, Hock, and Ferguson discovered that consumers are more self-focused when using a smartphone. They process information and make different decisions than they would when using a traditional computer. If the negative impact of smartphones on donation behavior occurs because individuals are less focused on other people, then highlighting other people in the call for donations might work, the team theorized. That’s exactly what the researchers proved in their final study. The “other-focused” strategy made all the difference because it drew people out of their smartphone self-absorption.
On Bookshelf: Philanthropy For All
Philanthropy isn’t just about billionaires, giving pledges, and black-tie galas. This book demonstrates how every single person can make their community a better place — large novelty checks and tuxedos not required! In Philanthropy for All, Tammy Day shows that philanthropy really is for everyone, not just the wealthy, and challenges the perception that giving back is just about money. A call to action, this book outlines practical strategies that make impactful giving back achievable for anyone. Discover how to use give-back strategies — like building relationships, engaging youth, and creating a culture of giving — to foster change and create a brighter, more hopeful future. In a time when our communities, country, and the world face challenges that leave many feeling helpless and uncertain, this book helps you expand your toolset and take action to make things better.
A Fulfilling Life
From Kim Parker who is director of social trends research at Pew Research Center: When asked what it takes to lead a fulfilling life, the public prioritizes job satisfaction and friendship over marriage and parenthood. Some 71% of all adults say having a job or career they enjoy is extremely or very important in order for people to live a fulfilling life. And 61% say having close friends is equally important. Only about one-in-four adults say having children (26%) or being married (23%) is extremely or very important in order to live a fulfilling life. A third say each of these is somewhat important. And 42% and 44%, respectively, say having children or being married is not too or not at all important. Having a lot of money is viewed as extremely or very important for a fulfilling life by 24% of adults, while another 49% say this is somewhat important. About one-in-four adults (27%) say this is not too or not at all important.
Quiz: Top Retirement States
To help you understand your options, Bankrate created a comprehensive ranking of the best and worst states for retirement by analyzing dozens of data points for each U.S. state, such as living costs, health care costs, overall well-being and more. They kept the methodology the same as last year’s list and ranked states based on five broad categories: affordability (40%), overall well-being (25%), the cost and quality of health care (20%), weather (10%) and crime (5%). Match the following states with their respective ranking (with No.1 being the best state to retire, and so on). Answers are shown at the bottom of the page.
1. Arizona a. No.1
2. Delaware b. No.8
3. Florida c. No.26
4. Ohio d. No.36
5. Texas e. No.42
Stratagems is published monthly by Jim Eskin, Founder of Eskin Fundraising Training, LLC. We offer workshops and customized training sessions for board members, staff and volunteers of non-profit organizations of all kinds and sizes. For details about our services and information, or to find out how to schedule a training session for your organization, visit our website. Follow our events on Facebook, and read more articles about philanthropy on our LinkedIn page.
Jim Eskin, Founder
Eskin Fundraising Training
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 210.415.3748
www.eskinfundraisingtraining.com
ANSWERS TO THIS MONTH’S QUIZ: 1=d, 2=a, 3=b 4=c, 5=e |
