Category Archives: Featured

I wish I paid more attention to Mr. Rogers when he was alive.  The older I get, the more I find myself in awe of the man. Call him a visionary, a quiet voice of reason, or the most sensible person in the room.  Fred was all of those. A few weeks ago a veryContinue reading “Daniel Tiger and Major Gifts”

I’ve been thinking about Jerry Panas this week.  He passed away last Saturday night, the 14th, at age 90. What a full life he lead, and how busy he was!  Jerry lived in northwest Connecticut, and yet the office for his consulting firm was in Chicago.  I asked him about that once.  “Rob, I’m onContinue reading “Not the Retiring Sort”

Are you passionate about your job?  No?  That’s okay.  Passion is an overused word.

Do you love your job?  No?  That’s okay, too.  Love is a pretty strong word.

Can you represent your organization to donors with pride and enthusiasm?

No?

Houston, we have a problem.

Driving from Indianapolis to Chicago ten days ago I spent some time on the phone (hands-free, of course) with my friend Tim, who is the executive director of a major foundation. We talked about planned giving, and then the possible effect of the tax law changes on charitable giving (see The Weekend Briefing for JuneContinue reading “Tim’s Third Question”

Not much about the fundraising profession shocks me anymore. This did. According to the Council for Aid to Education, as reported by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, “Almost one-third of the dollar value of gifts to all colleges in the last year came from only a dozen donors.”