The End of the Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign?

by David LawsonNo Comments
When what has always worked stops working (or no longer works like it use to) you start to see innovation. I was reminded of that when I saw an article from Inside Higher Ed about Beloit College foregoing the usual 5-7 year comprehensive campaign. Instead they are are going to have a "modular" or "project based" campaign where the focus will be one or two projects over a short period of time. "Administrators hope the approach will set them apart from other institutions, motivate faster giving, and excite donors who can see a quick turnaround on their investments. In total, administrators believe the new approach will raise as much money, if not more, for the college than a traditional model." I think they are onto something. Surveys have shown donors are tired of long, drawn-out campaigns which are followed all too soon by yet another campaign. One of Beloit's donors said, "You can see evidence of what you’ve done and that it’s...
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Desperately Seeking Mathematicians

by LoriNo Comments
It warmed my heart (and it was extremely cold here this a.m., in FLORIDA, so I needed that warmth) to hear a piece on NPR regarding math degrees and BIG DATA. Reportedly, mathematicians can make sense of this data for businesses. No doubt this is true, and “intense curiosity to understand what’s behind the data is a common trait amongst such mathematicians.” I would argue people with BIG LOVE of research (like us – that is, a love of prospect research and data mining) all have this trait as well, with or without math degrees. How many nonprofits and higher ed foundations look for (and hire) mathematicians? Perhaps you should share this NPR story with your HR department, to adjust the requirements for certain development positions. Hey, I’m not suggesting you stop hiring those of us with library science, information studies, history, and/or English degrees. Read on and see why math majors should be included, too. McKinsey released their results of...
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Holiday Giving

by LoriNo Comments
So, here it is, two days post Thanksgiving weekend - yes, we've successfully prolonged this one-day holiday into an entire weekend, and if your school system is like ours, it's a 5-day weekend, according to my teenage son, which made yesterday quite the rude awakening for said teenage son. In reflecting on our holiday, and writing this blog post, I came across my dinner preparation to-do list, as follows: Make cranberry sauce  Start turkey  Put turkey in oven no later than 2 p.m. Mix together mama’s sweet potato casserole Take rolls out of freezer Start Brussels sprouts Start pumpkin soup when turkey is resting Open pinot noir Make turkey gravy Put in rolls and sweet potato casserole Of course, as with all cooks, the recipes were tweaked to the tastes of the cook (moi) and the family members. We enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal in the evening, which is unlike my traditional family T-day schedule, a noonish feasting so one may graze the rest of the day. Why, you ask, did we...
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