Kristin Hancock

Underrated skill for fundraisers: Parallel Parking. Seriously, as a fundraiser you’re constantly driving to unfamiliar places. Many times downtown or some other difficult to park scenario. Knowing how to quickly and gracefully pull into a tight spot can save a great deal of time. No more endless circling buildings until you find a spot big enough to park a bus.

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Fundraisers, attaching labels to our donors may seem helpful, but in reality it limits our thinking. Here’s why: When you stop rigidly categorizing donors as “big” and “small” you open up incredible new opportunities. Because after all, there is no such thing as a big or a small donor! As someone who helps organizations get major donors, you may be shocked to hear me say that… but hear me out: A client recently shared her story of a longtime supporter who gave a $1M donation - when their largest previous gift was $1,500. Already a generous donation by any means - but a far stretch from their eventually seven figure investment. And a stretch you may never make if you can’t imagine the possibilities that lie beyond the arbitrary labels. Because "big" and "small" are just that - arbitrary labels you’ve created to put on donors. And often, these labels are indelibly applied after one single interaction with your organization. Now it’s your turn: have you ever been surprised by a donor who gave significantly more than expected? Let me know in the comments! 𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘢 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘻𝘦𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵? 𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩! 👋 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 🔝𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 (𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦)

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#DRGTip: How to Build Donor Engagement Programs Your Gift Officers Will Love How do you build donor engagement programs that your donors and gift officers will love? DRG's Jan McGuire and Colton Withers discuss what should be included in your donor engagement plans (and what shouldn't). #DonorEngagement #GiftOfficers #NonprofitStrategy #DonorRelations

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What do donors truly want? As a health care leader, have you and your team asked your donors what they want? What do they expect in their communications with you? What kind of impact do they expect from their gifts? If your philanthropy team isn’t considering these questions, it’s time to assess and reimagine your donor interactions. Check out this piece by Accordant's Heather Wiley Starankovic, CFRE, CAP, for an inside look into what donors really want: https://ow.ly/iCo950Rtpuv #healthcare #philanthropy #donorengagement

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Fundraising productivity is about more than working faster—you need to work smarter. 🧠 Efficient donor data management can make or break a fundraising campaign. Having easy access to accurate, unified donor data helps you connect with donors in meaningful ways and build campaigns that resonate. With a clear view of donor preferences and giving histories, you can: ✅ Choose the right channels ✅ Tailor outreach ✅ Strengthen donor relationships But when data is scattered across systems, it eats up valuable time and makes it hard to keep up with engagement. Streamlining this process with the right technology can help you reclaim that time and work more efficiently. With unified, accessible data, fundraisers can spend less time searching for information and more time focused on what counts—engaging donors and growing support. The Daxko + Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT integration brings this vision to life, helping nonprofits centralize donor data, reduce manual tasks, and boost productivity across their teams. Want to see what the integration can do for your nonprofit? Head here 👉 https://bit.ly/4fWjYq0 #Daxko #Nonprofit #Community #Fitness #Fundraising

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In donor relations, our foundation has two primary responsibilities: expressing gratitude and demonstrating impact. While we often focus on thanking our donors, showing impact through reporting is equally crucial. However, reporting has become so complicated that we handle it on auto-pilot. This blog series aims to break that cycle by re-evaluating our reports and processes, documenting our workflows, and discovering ways to enhance our reporting throughout the year. Part 1: Evaluating Your Current Reports and Processes Like any journey, you need to know your starting point to chart the course forward. Do you know where you stand with your reports? Do you understand the rationale behind the content? Are you aware of how your donors perceive these reports? This guide will help you address these questions. Gather Your Reports Start by collecting every report your team produced last year, whether for the calendar or fiscal year. The collection should include print and digital formats of Annual Endowment Reports, folders, envelopes, videos, website content, financial data layouts, impact statements, endowment overviews, email content, etc. Review Each Report Group 🔷 Holistic Review: Examine the report package as a whole. 🔷 Does all the information make sense together? 🔷 How would the experience change if some information was split up? 🔷 Are you trying to convey too much at once, or is there too little content to justify a report? Individual Asset Review: Next, evaluate each component of your reports. 🔷 What purpose does this piece serve? 🔷 Is this a requirement? If so, who mandates it? 🔷 How long did it take to produce this piece? 🔷 Does this create the donor experience we want? 🔷 Is it a cohesive experience? 🔷 Do we have data on donor engagement with this piece? Does the data justify the effort involved? Taking Action Now that we are armed with report review insights, it's time to take action: For Less Effective Assets: 🔷 Can we cut this piece? Sometimes, simply eliminating an unnecessary element is the best course of action. 🔷 Can we revamp the element? If the piece is necessary, consider how to improve it to better engage your donors. 🔷 Can we bring in a partner? Collaborate with others to enhance the effectiveness of the piece. 🔷 Would this asset work better in a separate report? If certain information doesn't fit well with the rest of the content, consider creating smaller, focused reports. For Stronger Assets: What makes this asset stand out? Understanding its strengths can help you replicate its success in other content. Is there room for enhancement? Even strong elements might benefit from a design refresh or updated data to keep them engaging. With your report assets reviewed and organized, it's time to take a breather. In the next installment, we'll discuss why designing a structured reporting process and calendar is essential.

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Want to help your donors make a lasting impact? Planned giving is a powerful way for donors to support causes they care about while also leaving a legacy that lasts beyond their lifetime.    Nonprofit organizations rely on thoughtful contributions like these to continue their vital work and make a difference in the world, but many fundraisers are unfamiliar with the various types of planned gifts and how they work. For development professionals, the real trick with planned gifts can be keeping the different types straight and knowing who to call for help when a donor would like to set up a more complicated gift like a charitable remainder trust. Looking to learn more about planned gifts? Stop by our blog and check out our newest post: https://lnkd.in/gC7WkaBi #petrusdevelopment #catholicfundraising #development #nonprofitfundraising #fundraising #faithbasedfundraising #raisethechurch #plannedgifts #legacy

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For many nonprofits, fall is one of the busiest fundraising seasons. You’re juggling grant proposal deadlines, grant reporting deadlines, year-end fundraising appeals, and fundraising planning for the year ahead! Amidst all this, having a grant template can make your organization’s fundraising not only more effective but also more successful. Let’s look at how. Read our full blog here: https://lnkd.in/e3Sbk25w #nonprofit #fundingforgood #fundraising #granttemplate #planning

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Data is critical for non-profits as they look to access grants and also reduce the admin/reporting for grants they've already received We work with non-profits to collect all the data associated with their volunteers, events, and donations in one place This also allows them to report to their communities on the important impact they have been able to achieve Reach out if you think it could help your organization https://lnkd.in/grBJXDvN

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Are your grant narratives and your budget telling the same story? 🤔 In successful grant proposals, the budgets and the narratives are well aligned. One grants expert I know says that when she reviews grants, she likes to read the story in the budget first, and then follow with narrative.  What does this mean if you’re the person creating the narratives? At a minimum, it means that you need to check in with the person in charge of the budget, if it isn’t you. And it can’t be the day before the grant is due, either. Ideally, a month before the deadline. 📆 Be sure you understand how much money is being requested, and for what, so your narratives will support that—both implicitly and overtly. You don’t want to be jamming that information into your approved and word-count-managed narratives on the day the grant is due! Even with an AI assist (and I have found that ChatGPT can be super helpful with this kind of realignment), that’s just cutting it too close. Depending upon your role in this situation, you may also need to discuss the funding parameters. Are there mandatory budget elements, like participating in a particular conference, or rules like “no staff salaries”? It’ll make everybody’s life easier if that is discussed early in the process. Grant writers, how do you manage the interaction of narratives and budgets in your process? What if you’re a consultant and working outside the organization applying for the grant? 💡

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The Engage & Elevate Donors Blueprint Looking for a way to better engage with your donors and keep them coming back? Our new low-cost donor engagement product is exactly what you need. You'll get instant access to: A guide to engaging donors to keep them giving A templated letter to donors to increase donations A guide on ways to reach donors so you’re always top of mind! A guide to donor behaviour & understanding motivations Supportive Facebook Community to get extra support and answers to your questions about running a nonprofit! This tool covers everything you need to succeed in your Donor Strategy Plan.

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I’m digging deep into why gatherings are so powerful in fundraising. One of the biggest benefits is the ability to build trust with your donors. Gatherings accelerate that by: - Providing a way to get to know your donors and create a sense of community and shared purpose. - Creating an opportunity to demonstrate your impact, financial credibility and vision for the future.

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