Getting Over Growing Pains, Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 2006

This article from the Chronical of Philanthropy features our use of organizational Life Cycle analyses to help nonprofit leaders identify the changes that need to be made in order to advance their organizatioins successfully.

Fundraising

Qm² works with development directors, executive directors and board development committees to design and implement comprehensive, donor-centered, integrated development programs. We assess current fundraising activities and outline steps to create a development system and process that matches the donor’s needs and interests to the needs of the organization, and gives every staff and board member a role to play.

MANAGEMENT BRIEFINGS to help you build a stronger organization.

Your Public Presence

by Anita Nowery Durel and John Durel

Authenticity is the key to a positive and powerful public presence. This briefing offers ideas for improving the way you are perceived by others. These techniques and tactics will be ineffective if you are pretending to be something you are not. You will be uncomfortable, and others will notice, if you behave in a way that is not sincere and genuine.

Nonprofit - Business Partnerships

by John Durel

Why do private businesses support nonprofit organizations? What’s in it for the business?

Reviving and Revising Your Membership Program

by Anita Nowery Durel

Membership should be tied closely to Development so that members are cultivated and asked to become donors. Here are guidelines for setting up an effective membership program.

Greening Your I.T.

by Michael Randel

How does all the I.T. equipment and services affect the way your organization operates? You probably couldn't do without a lot of the ways of functioning that computer software and tools have made possible. At the same time, you are also probably wondering how to get a better handle on your I.T. budget.  And all this talk about climate change is making you wonder about where all the power needed to operate and cool this equiment is coming from...

Getting Started with a Case for Support

By Anita Nowery Durel

Whether organizing your annual fund drive or a comprehensive campaign, carefully explaining what you do, why you do it, your vision and plans, the benefits of your work, and how the community can participate are basic and necessary facts to identify. 

Uses of the Case for Support

By Anita Nowery Durel

Those who contributed to the development of the Case have been on an exploratory journey that has uncovered the passion behind your mission. Their work should produce a summary that is capable of influencing and attracting others to support your organization and your work.  The Case can be of benefit internally as well as externally as the following uses for the Case demonstrate.   

Developing a Case for Support

By Anita Nowery Durel

In drafting a Case for Support the issues your institution confronts and the goals you intend to achieve are conveyed in powerful statements that helps the public understand the importance and value of the work and why your nonprofit should continue to exist. 

Case for Support Checklist

By Anita Nowery Durel

This checklist is designed to help those assigned to the task of drafting a Case for Support.  It covers the essential elements of the Case and highlights questions that will help uncover the passion behind the Mission.

Preparing to Ask for Money

by Anita Durel

Knowing who to ask may be one of the most difficult aspects of fundraising.  This prospect identification phase is the first step in the development process.  Although most people shy away from asking an individual for a gift, the solicitation or the “Ask” is just one small step in the larger development process.  Before you ask for a contribution a significant amount of work is involved. Read more.

Prospect Profiles

by Anita Durel

Before a nonprofit organization can engage in solicitation, it needs both insights and solid information about the prospective donor.  Typically this information is gathered overtime through conversations and other research including what can be learned on the internet or through the media.  This takes place as the organization educates the prospect about its work.  This cultivation stage is where relationships are forged, and it is a vital part of the development cycle. Read more.

Weathering the Economic Tsunami

by Mary Case

We face a combination of economic factors which have consumer confidence at an all time low:  mortgage foreclosures, skyrocketing gas prices, failing corn and milk futures, food riots in other countries, consumer crunch here, stagnant wages, a shrinking middle class, large-scale weather-related natural disasters, an unpopular war seen by our citizens as spending our inheritance for generations to come and, oddly, not the buoy wartime spending usually contributes. Read more

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Qm²

Eliminating the Fear Factor in Fundraising

by Anita Durel

Published in Hand to Hand, the Journal of the Association of Children's Museums, Summer 2009

With staff and resources cut, there simply is not enough time to accomplish everything you used to do. So maybe this is the best time to examine priorities and recognize that this is a great time to focus on one in particular: rallying the board to ask for money. It may seem counterintuitive, but hard economic times present a unique opportunity to engage museum trustees in fundraising. Read More.