by Eddie Thompson | May 7, 2018 | Development Management
“You have chosen…poorly,” said the knight guarding the Holy Grail. The famous line from the movie “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,” was spoken as an intruder tried to select the of cup of Christ from over a dozen options....
by Eddie Thompson | Aug 22, 2017 | Development Management
Confronting brutal facts with unwavering faith, according to leadership consultant and best-selling author Jim Collins, is one of the characteristics of “10X companies” that were able to go from good to great. He elaborates: “Information ignored for the sake of...
by Eddie Thompson | Jun 21, 2017 | Development Management
I interact with a lot of fundraising executives representing institutions of all sizes and degrees of success—from the largest hospital network in the North America to small shops with two or three fundraisers. It would be a mistake to assume that very large...
by Eddie Thompson | May 16, 2017 | Development Management
I frequently speak at nonprofit leadership conferences on various topics, including charitable estate planning, fund-development strategy, and best practices of the most successful institutions. Over the last two years, I’ve been asking organizational leaders...
by Eddie Thompson | Apr 17, 2017 | Development Management
In a previous blog I referred to two studies—Under Developed on the status of nonprofits in the U.S. and Beyond Fundraising: What Does It Mean to Build a Culture of Philanthropy? by Cynthia Gibson. Though most would agree with the bleak assessment described in the...
by Eddie Thompson | Feb 15, 2017 | Development Management, Donor Communications
Trying to fill a bucket that leaked as quickly as you could pour water into it would be a frustrating way to spend your day—or your career. That’s how many fundraising professionals feel when all the gains they make in donor acquisition are lost in the next year to...