Blog
Sharing insights, strategies and inspiration you can use right now.
This is where I share strategies, action steps, and ideas for scaling major gifts, and answers to questions that matter most right now.
Portfolio Optimization: When and How to Let Go of Prospects
In this week's edition of Scaling Major Gifts, I share the four lenses I use to decide who stays active, who graduates, who pauses, and who needs another look. I also walk through how to bring your leadership along so quality, not quantity, becomes the story you tell.
138. Pruning Your Portfolio to Grow Your Results
In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser podcast, I walk through the four lenses I use to decide who stays on an active portfolio, who graduates to stewardship, and who pauses for now. I also share the language to use with leadership when you propose a leaner, sharper list.
Designing Transformational Gift Offers Donors Can Actually Say Yes To
In this week's Scaling Major Gifts newsletter, I share a simple blueprint for designing offers donors can say yes to with confidence. The five elements. How to structure multi-year and blended commitments. How to co-create with your best donors instead of pre-packaging.
137. Crafting Offers for Transformational Giving
In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I walk through the anatomy of a truly transformational gift offer. The five elements that belong on one page. The multi-year and blended structures that feel doable to your donor. And the co-creation conversation that turns a good offer into a great partnership.
Deepening Donor Trust with Radical Clarity and Feedback Loops
This week's Scaling Major Gifts newsletter is all about building that kind of trust, on purpose, with practical tools you can put to work right now.
136. Trust-Building Conversations with Major Donors
In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I'm sharing everything I know about building deep, lasting trust with major donors, even when things don't go as planned.
The New Nonprofit Tech Stack for Major Gifts
This week's Scaling Major Gifts newsletter is all about cutting through the noise. I walk you through the four core tech categories that actually matter for major gifts work (hint: it's not that many), a simple five-criteria check to evaluate anything in your stack, where AI genuinely fits (and where it honestly doesn't), and a 90-day "stack tune-up" plan to help you retire what's not working and feel good about what is.
135. A Modern Tech Stack for Major Gift Success
Today, we're talking about your tech stack, what belongs in it, how to evaluate what you've already got, where AI actually fits in major gifts work, and how to do a ninety-day tune-up that genuinely frees your team to focus on what matters most: donors.
AI-Assisted Donor Communications That Still Sound Like You
In this week’s Scaling Major Gifts, I’m sharing how I use AI to draft, refine, and personalize donor communication that still sounds like me. Plus, a few simple prompts you can test this week.
134. Writing Donor Messages with AI, Not by AI
On this week’s Intentional Fundraiser Podcast, I’m sharing how I use AI to draft and refine messages that still sound like me, while saving precious time for deeper donor connections.
Time Blocking for High-Value Major Gift Work
In this week’s Scaling Major Gifts, I share how I finally took back my week using time blocking, clear communication, and a few smart AI helpers to protect high-value donor time and grow major gifts.
133. Take Back Your Week, Grow Your Major Gifts
Some weeks, your calendar looks full of “important” meetings, but your top donors barely hear from you. In my experience, your calendar will tell the truth about your priorities long before your strategic plan does. The good news is, you can change that story. Here’s a new way to look at your week.
132. From Mid-Level to Major: Mapping the Journey
Let’s talk about how you can turn mid-level donors into your strongest pipeline for transformational support.
Blending Major Gifts and Corporate Partnerships in 2026
This week, let’s talk about how to blend major gifts and corporate partnerships more intentionally.
131. Corporate Giving as a Major Gifts Lever
Let’s talk about how you can blend major gifts and corporate giving in a way that feels human, strategic, and aligned with your donors’ values.
Generational Giving: Engaging Next-Gen and Values-Driven Donors
Have you noticed how different donor conversations feel these days? I’m hearing it everywhere. The donors leading with values, especially women and next‑gen wealth holders, are changing what generosity looks like in 2026. They ask sharper questions. They expect quicker answers. And they want their giving to align with their worldview and social circles, not just their wallets.
130. Next-Gen Major Donors and the New Rules of Engagement
We’re unpacking the new rules of engagement with next‑gen donors in greater depth. You’ll hear stories of fundraisers who’ve built trust faster, simplified reporting, and created shared experiences with donors who lead with their values. If you’ve wondered how to shorten cultivation cycles without feeling transactional, this episode is for you.
Crafting a Modern Case for Support That Inspires Six- and Seven-Figure Gifts
If your case feels more like a museum piece than a living, breathing invitation to change lives, next week’s focus will help.
129. Your 2026 Case for Transformational Gifts
In a 2026 world, with AI on everyone’s radar, economic uncertainty, and donors asking sharper questions about impact and equity, an outdated case for support is a real liability.
In my experience, updating your case is one of the most leveraged things you can do to inspire six and seven-figure gifts.
Building a Resilient Major Gifts Portfolio in a Volatile Market
Let’s talk about how to build a resilient major gifts portfolio, one that can bend with market change without breaking your organization’s momentum.