Hey Fundraiser!

In this episode, I will discuss the common practice among nonprofits requiring a minimum donation from board members. Depending on the organization, this requirement can range from $1,000 to $10,000. However, I'm here to challenge this tradition and urge you that it's time to ditch the board minimum. You might be surprised by this suggestion, or you have completely fallen out of your chair! Tune in for a fresh strategic perspective on board giving.

 Learn More

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

A happy fundraiser is more likely to go the extra mile and be successful in their efforts, which is why it's crucial to empower them and make sure they feel supported. In this podcast episode, we'll discuss six tips to help you keep your fundraisers happy, motivated, and feeling supported throughout their fundraising journey—because happy fundraisers raise more money!

 Download the 6 Keys to a Sustainable, Thriving Fundraising Program

 Learn More

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

In this episode I want to talk to you about asking for major gifts and handling those pesky objections that come up. Every fundraiser gets nervous before asking for a major gift because it puts you in a very vulnerable place. Like, what if the prospect says no? In this episode, I will share 3 questions to ask a teetering prospect that will turn a “no” into a “maybe” and a “maybe” into a “yes!”

A sneak peek of Asking: By Jerold Panas

 Learn More

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

Creating Your Board | Download Free Guide
https://board.heyfundraiser.com

In today's episode we will discuss engaging other individuals from your organization in the fundraising process. Your program staff and leadership are all essential allies in the cultivation process. Tune in for strategic ways you can utilize your leadership to maximize your fundraising efforts.

Learn More

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

Creating Your Board | Download Free Guide
https://board.heyfundraiser.com

In today's episode we will discuss engaging other individuals from your organization in the fundraising process. Your program staff and leadership are all essential allies in the cultivation process. Tune in for strategic ways you can utilize your leadership to maximize your fundraising efforts.

Learn More

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

Events are an important part of engagement for donors and prospects, and you can strategically use them to springboard your cultivation efforts. Events can run the gamut – you’ve got huge fundraising galas to small, intimate house parties and everything in between. You might not love events, but why not make the best of them and utilize an event to kick off your cultivation efforts?

Do you need a more strategic cultivation plan that will help you raise more money? Check out our newest masterclass, The Donor Cultivation Method.

 Learn More

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn

→ Join our Private Facebook Group

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

Download Our Best Questions for Your First Prospect Meeting

http://cultivation.heyfundraiser.com/

The first meeting with a prospect is a big deal. It’s your chance to make a great first impression and begin a new journey with the prospect. During this meeting, you need to assess whether or not the prospect should continue in your portfolio and, if so, what should be the plan for this process? But how do you gauge affinity? By asking the right questions and then listening for clues about their feelings toward the organization. Let’s take a deeper look into cultivating relationships with prospects.

 Learn More

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

At some point in your fundraising career, you are going to have an upset donor who is angry with the organization, leadership, or the direction that the organization is going. It’s not a pleasant experience, but with some grace and skills, you will make it though it. You will experience upset donors. It’s part of having a relationship – there are ups and downs. If a prospect is really upset and threatening to pull their giving or something drastic, engage your manager. It might take more than just you to smooth things over. That’s okay, just remember, they are upset because they care. If they didn’t care about your organization, they wouldn’t get upset. It’s hard to remember that when you’re being yelled at or lectured, but try to center yourself in the comfort that they care.    

• If they didn’t care about your organization, they wouldn’t get upset. It’s hard to remember that when you’re being yelled at or lectured, but try to center yourself in the comfort that they care.
• When donors or prospects have strong feelings, listen, and try not to get defensive. 
• Sometimes people just need to be heard and acknowledged.

→ Download KPI's For Annual Giving

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

Mistakes made during donor cultivation can cost you the relationship and the major gift! We're going to break down the biggest missteps that fundraisers make during cultivation so you can work hard to avoid them. If you can avoid these mistakes, you will be well on your way to sophisticated donor cultivation and closing large major gifts.   Donor cultivation is building deep, long-lasting relationships. Think about how you build relationships with new friends or romantic partners, and the faux pas you work hard to avoid in those new relationships. The eight mistakes we're going to cover today are very similar.    Learn:

• The common mistakes to avoid when conducting donor cultivation
• How to build deep, meaningful relationships with major gift donors and prospects
• Why a proactive approach in cultivation is the best

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...

KPIs are the measurements of success for your major gift officers. That's why choosing the right KPIs is critical. Peter Drucker wisely said, "what gets measured, matters." And he's right! Whatever metrics you put into place for your major gift officers will become their focus. If you are measuring the wrong things, your major gift officers will begin focusing on the wrong activities. Make sure your KPIs are donor-facing, include solicitations, and that most of the portfolio is being cultivated. They should be easy to measure and not tie your major gift officers to their desks. Major gift officers should spend minimal time on data entry but just enough to measure the KPIs.  

Learn:

• What are KPIs
• Why are KPIs for your Major Gift Officers important
• How to track KPIs in your database
• The best 5 KPIs for your Major Gift Officers
• How often you should review your KPIs
  
  

Want to download our five KPIs and other helpful hints for measuring success?

Download our KPIs

→ Download KPI's For Annual Giving

→ Join The Fundraising Collective 

→ Connect with Mary Petersen on LinkedIn
 → Join our Private Facebook Group

→ Schedule Your Free Gameplan Call with Mary

🎓 The Professional Development Budget Kit. Free Download! Everything you need to get your organization to say "yes" to funding your growth: templates, talking points, and an ROI calculator.

💸 Major Gift Intensives. We're headed to 6 cities in 2027. Are we headed to yours? Join us for a 3 day deep dive into major gifts! Only 30 seats per city.

🌻 The 2027 Growth Pass. Only 5 seats available. The Growth Pass bundles Mary's three flagship live experiences into one powerful year of learning. One Major Gift Intensive. One Ask Workshop. One Small Table Intensive.

🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.

🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the scripts.

💻 Connect with Mary Petersen

• Website: heyfundraiser.com
• YouTube: @...