December office logistics

Welcome to this week's LinkedIn-only excerpt of the Donor Participation Project newsletter! The Donor Participation Project is a community of 6,000+ fundraisers where you can network, learn, and advance your career.

Many of you have joined Donor Participation Project for one of our upcoming events. Welcome! Things are getting crazy as we near year-end and I imagine you want me to get to the point.

If you just do one more thing before now and year-end, take a look at this list from Annual Fund Toolkit's client knowledge base.

The December Office Logistics checklist will make sure you don't miss that donor calling on December 30th who needs to give you their stock ASAP!!!!

(True story... happens more frequently than you'd think.)

A few things to check for to maximize December results while giving everybody an opportunity to rest:

• Identify every phone number and email that is published online. In some nonprofits, this will be almost all your phone numbers and email addresses.
• Where possible, forward all the above numbers to email or a designated cell phone
• Make assignments for coverage during the vacation days
• Email out-of-office messages for all staff should include a link to your end of year giving page
• The main help line should also receive instructions on what to do if anybody calls with giving questions

Stick to your plan and you'll be OK.

Louis

PS: The Finding Major Donors webinar filled up almost immediately - we'll schedule a new one soon!

Lunch Analysis

53% of fundraisers struggle with the same challenge: securing that first meeting. Join us to unpack this surprising finding from our groundbreaking State of the Development Profession Survey.

Join James Langley (Langley Innovations) as we explore why, despite sophisticated tools and confident professionals, starting donor conversations remains our field's biggest hurdle.

Key topics include:

• Deep dive into the paradox: Why do well-equipped fundraisers struggle with initial outreach?
• Explore the disconnect between fundraising materials (56% rate them effective) and impact demonstration needs
• Learn why relationship building ranks highest among crucial skills yet administrative support could be the key to improvement
• Discover practical strategies to overcome the "first meeting hurdle" based on insights from 571 development professionals

This session will blend data-driven insights with practical solutions, helping you transform prospect engagement in an evolving fundraising landscape.

Visit Event Page →

But wait! There's more...

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• fundraising research
• community bulletin board
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• and more!

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Have a great week,

Louis