Blogs

I think a lot of us in this sector have been there. You hire a great fundraiser, hand them a portfolio, give them their targets, and say: go get 'em. And then you wonder why they're struggling six months later. That's how you learn the hard way that teaching people how to fundraise is not the same as coaching them to be great at it. And that difference really, really matters. Fundraising is deeply personal work. You are inviting someone into a relationship — asking them to

In Major Gift fundraising, one of the biggest fears is hearing no. We've hosted several sessions lately about major gift fundraising, and every time we talk about fears, the top one is rejection. And I get it. No matter what type of no — there are nine by the way — it’s hard to hear. So, that’s one of the things we train fundraisers to practice hearing. The more you practice, the better you are at identifying the no, responding, and keeping the relationship moving forward.

When people hear the words “major gifts,” it can feel intimidating. You know the gifts are bigger. You know there’s more riding on the relationship. But the actual how-of-it can feel unclear. I remember feeling that way early in my career too. One of the biggest shifts for me was realizing this: Major Gifts is a system, not a mystery. There’s a structure to the work. And once you understand the structure, you stop feeling like you’re guessing all the time. At its core, major

How do you make a piece of mail feel personal when you’re sending it to thousands of people at once? It doesn’t start with a name at the top of the page. It starts with a story. Not the organization’s story. But a real story—about a real person, a real family, a real moment. Told simply. Honestly. The way you’d tell it to someone sitting across from you at the kitchen table. Then this story is the spine that holds the entire campaign together. Every version. Every line that

I'm going to say something that might ruffle a few feathers: mail is not dead. It's not dying. It's not on life support. And if your direct mail program feels like it is? That's not a mail problem. That's a strategy problem. So let's talk about it. I fell in love with fundraising through direct response. It's this beautiful mix of marketing and communications and fundraising, all woven together. It's an art and it's a science. And when it's done well? It is one of the most p

There is that well-known moment in every fundraiser's year where the pressure to "start asking" becomes very loud. The fiscal year is ticking. Leadership wants results. The pipeline needs to move. And so you have the urge to reach out to donors before, if you are being honest with yourself, you are truly ready to. I say this gently: starting the ask process before the foundation is in place does not speed things up. It often sets you back. At Kittiwake, I talk with clients

Leadership can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. As leaders in fundraising, I think we should see ourselves as part of a collective, as part of a group of passionate individuals who are all working toward the same cause, in our own way: The cause of making the world and our communities a little bit better, each day. So, a few weeks ago, when someone told me I’d been named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by Atlantic Business Magazine, my first thought wasn’t

This may or may not surprise you, but my first real job was in the hold of a fishing boat. I grew up in a family of fishermen and women, so from the time I was small, it was seabirds overhead and salt in the air. Work was loud and messy and really, really honest. So that’s my origin story: A tiny place where people still show up for each other without being asked. And where kittiwakes nest on the edge of cliffs. As a community, a collective. When I think about the work we do,

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