When a dear friend of our family moved into senior housing, we had to get everything out of her house. But her new apartment was full long before the house was empty. With all the additional stuff on the lawn, it felt like we were starring on an episode of the TV show Clean Sweep. […]

When I conduct workshops about the CFC, the title is: “The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the Golden Goose of American Philanthropy.” Why that title you ask? Because just like the golden goose, the CFC just keeps chugging alone, raising millions of dollars every year for thousands of non-profits, all with hardly anyone noticing or understanding […]

A month or so ago I learned about a great website called Alltop.com. The concept is simple, they take a particular topic, like non-profits, and give you the five most recently published stories from websites that cover that subject. The page is laid out with three columns and all the sites on one page. Your […]

Volunteerism is a defining characteristic of the Not-For-Profit sector, in that it sets us apart from the other two societal sectors. It is usually thought of as a virtuous, selfless enterprise on the part of the volunteer….yet my experience, both as an organizational leader and as a volunteer, is that this is not true. And […]

The Aubrey Rose Foundation in Cincinnati, OH helps families with children who have a life-threatening medical condition. The organization was founded in memory of Aubrey Rose Hollenkamp, who as an infant was diagnosed with a severe cardiac condition. The foundation seeks to help families whose child has a serious illness such as organ failure, cancer […]

Big events and celebrity galas that make the news may leave the impression that special events are the best way to raise money for charity. While event fundraisers can be quite successful, it’s important to have realistic expectations. The famous line from the movie Field of Dreams “if you build it, they will come” unfortunately […]

In the past few years I’ve gotten suckered into more than one internet April Fool’s prank. But rest assured there are no fools jokes today on Step by Step Fundraising. In fact this month we’re taking steps to help non-profits avoid falling into foolish fundraising traps. There are many myths and misconceptions about fundraising. Some […]