by Eddie Thompson | Mar 10, 2026 | Charitable Estate Planning, Development Management, Professional Development
Trillions of dollars are going to transfer in the coming years. No one knows the exact amount, but we do know this: those assets will go to heirs, to charity, or––with thoughtful planning––to both. For nonprofits, this wealth transfer is more than an unprecedented...
by Eddie Thompson | Feb 9, 2026 | Development Management
Early in my fundraising career, the organization I worked for had an immediate funding need. I sat down with a very successful businessman and asked him for a significant gift, say $100,000, to cover this deficit. I was confident his wealth made the request...
by Eddie Thompson | Mar 25, 2025 | Development Management, Professional Development
Change is an inevitable part of business, but it is not always beneficial to organizational performance, to staff productivity, or the community. While change can prevent companies from becoming obsolete and irrelevant, the shift to a new way of operating often comes...
by Eddie Thompson | Feb 27, 2025 | Development Management, Professional Development
A brief historical survey reveals several narratives about the origin and applications of the term “benchmarking.” Some associate the word with rapid deployment of military forces, with the assembly line for automobiles, or with various management processes. However,...
by Eddie Thompson | Oct 23, 2024 | Charitable Estate Planning, Development Management, Donor Communications
State and federal tax laws regarding estate and gift planning are pretty straightforward—at least on the surface, but the efficacy of their applications differ between cases. For example, testamentary charitable lead trusts are a good option for some donors, but just...
by Eddie Thompson | Aug 30, 2024 | Development Management, Professional Development
While my last post referred to the “building blocks” of an integrated growth system, another useful metaphor could be the machinery of a system, a collection of different-sized gears that work together—like a clock. Large gears rotate slowly (the hour hand, for...
