Setting Goals for your Development Office development plan quick tips Apr 03, 2021

How to set goals for development. Who sets them? What if we don't have a history to base our goals on? Learn more here (link)

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Coordinating Fundraising in Your Organization development plan quick tips Apr 03, 2021

Are there too many "hands in the pie" How do you coordinate all your fundraising efforts so the right-hand knows what the left hand is doing? Learn more here (link)

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Investing in the Development Office development plan quick tips Apr 02, 2021

How do you get your CEO and/or your board to realize the importance of investing in development? Learn more here (link)

 

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Building a Comprehensive Development Plan development plan Feb 23, 2021

Every development plan is as unique as the organization that is creating it. What works for some organizations, might not necessarily work for yours. So be careful when asking colleagues to share their plans. You can’t just cut and paste to create your plan. There is no quick fix. First,...

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Implementing and Evaluating Your Plan development plan Feb 23, 2021

One of the biggest problems with many development plans (as well as strategic and other plans) is that they sit on a shelf gathering dust. If the plan has all the components discussed in my previous blogs on this topic, it should be easy to implement and easily measured. Most plans fail because...

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Do You Need a Written Development Plan? development plan Feb 23, 2021

How many times has a well-meaning board member or volunteer come to one of your board meetings and offered this sage advice—“We should do a (golf tournament, gala dinner dance, art auction, walkathon, etc., etc.) because (the scouts, the hospital, a local church, etc., etc.) did one...

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Does Your Organization Need a Development Plan? development plan Feb 23, 2021

Scenario 1:
How many times has a well-meaning board member or volunteer come to one of your board meetings and offered this sage advice—“We should do a (golf tournament, gala dinner dance, art auction, walkathon, etc., etc.) because (Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, the Hospital, etc., etc.)...

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What Does the Development Plan Look Like? development plan Feb 23, 2021

One thing to remember about your plan: it is more than a document! Both the process and the product are important – even more important is implementing the plan.

The plan should contain a narrative of your fundraising philosophy and the overall mission of the development department. The...

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Where to Get the Information to Create Your Development Plan development plan Feb 23, 2021

Sometimes getting all the information you need to plan is the hardest part of the process. People who have never been involved in development might not understand why this information is important. Or, they might be protecting their turf. Or they are too busy to worry about “that...

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Who Creates and Implements the Development Plan? development plan Feb 23, 2021

The chief development officer (CDO), in most cases, has the major responsibility for the development plan. The CDO establishes goals for the department including creating the development office budget.  This person also develops the objectives and strategies to reach these goals, and usually...

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Your Development Plan—Where to Start development plan Feb 23, 2021

Where have you been? To go forward, we usually look back first. We call this a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. And, although many of us use this method when doing a strategic plan, it’s equally important in the development planning process.

Your...

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