Roundtable of advancement professionals at AADO Floyd Akins

6 Shifts in Fundraising Practice You Will Not Want to Ignore

Today’s speed of change will require leaders to find new ways to navigate this pace. My recent conversations with 12 VPs uncovered a shift in how they’re thinking about our work and its rapid evolution. As you enter planning season with your advancement team, keep the following six shifts in mind.

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Texas Woman's University President and Women Leaders

Is It Harder to Fundraise from Women?

When we’re under pressure, it is normal to revert to what we’ve done successfully before. When a woman doesn’t respond as anticipated and, in fact, asks more questions, gives less than asked or doesn’t agree to be on a board, we turn and focus on those who do respond in the way we prefer. But we risk sub-optimizing what this woman might give us after she is satisfied with her due diligence.

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Four Professional Women in a Meeting

The “Traditional” Donor Life Cycle May Not Apply to Women

In your work as a fundraiser, you may use the term “donor life cycle.” This model charts the path of a donor through several sequential phases of engagement and giving to causes they care about: first gift, occasional gifts, consistent annual gifts, major or stretch gifts, leadership role and accompanying giving, and finally, a planned gift. But because of their personal life stages, women’s “donor life cycles” are often not as linear as the simple model would suggest.

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Angelique Grant speaking at AADO table

We Won’t Raise More Money Unless We Stop Acting Like All Donors Are White Men

We are seeing fewer Americans give because we are applying the same approaches we’ve used since the 1960s to today’s very diverse donors. Our fundraising may be too pale, male, and stale. It is time to look in the mirror at our fundraising practices and see what needs to change.

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Campus Woman Professional

Ditch The Niche in Women’s Giving

In the last three decades, many university advancement departments thoughtfully designed dedicated women’s “programs” or “initiatives.” These efforts responded to women’s preferences to connect and collaborate, as well as to be engaged before they are asked. Some resembled giving circles, while others focused on placing women in leadership positions or on connecting alumnae. However, a common thread united – and limited – these programs: they all were siloed, niche programs that artificially separated women’s giving from larger development efforts.

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