Fund-raising success is made up of many things. Once you have identified a donor who finds your mission compelling, you have someone whom you can cultivate for future gifts of all sorts—or someone whom you can alienate and lose. The difference is often to a large extent within your control. Stewarding donor relationships means paying …Read More

In this issue of Give & Take, we talk with Barbara Cooke, the former Director of Development of Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall, Michigan. Having retired in January after an 18-year career in fund raising as well as other management responsibilities at Oaklawn, Ms. Cooke explains why she accepted a position to create Oaklawn’s development program …Read More

It is not uncommon for those making presentations about planned giving to begin with references to how “planned giving was created by Congress as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1969.” In reality, many of the common gift planning tools we use have been around for centuries, and Congress finally enacted rules governing the …Read More