iMarketSmart

JULY 25, 2025

The best way to prepare for sustained fundraising success is to proceed with as few assumptions as possible. Jim has authored numerous books, including his most recent book, The Future of Fundraising: Adapting to New Philanthropic Realities , published by Academic Impressions in 2020.

Fundraising

iMarketSmart

JUNE 30, 2025

When fundraising teams struggle, leaders often respond with new strategies: restructured portfolios, new databases, more metrics, more meetings. Fundraising success doesn’t begin with systems. In fundraising, emotional safety is essential. In fundraising, that number may be even higher. Fundraisers deal with: Rejection.

Leadership

Jeff Brooks

JULY 22, 2025

It’s SOS if you think the shiny new object also signals a fundamental change in human psychology — like, “Starting now, young people will become great donors!” This is especially true in fundraising, because most donors are older — the last group of people to adapt new things. More Nonprofit Diseases

Psychology

iMarketSmart

APRIL 11, 2025

The two deadliest words in fundraising are: Annual Fund The first word suggests one gives simply because the Earth orbits around the Sun again. This cannot be achieved by merely changing our fundraising vocabulary. Jim Langley is the president of Langley Innovations.

Fundraising

iMarketSmart

JUNE 16, 2025

If you’ve ever sent out a fundraising appeal that didn’t land—no clicks, no gifts, no response—you’re not alone. Too many fundraising messages are built on data, logic, and institutional priorities. Before you send any fundraising message, ask yourself: “Would this make me feel something if I received it?” It’s personal.

Fundraising

iMarketSmart

DECEMBER 18, 2024

With the right systems and conversations, legacy giving can become a cornerstone of any nonprofits fundraising strategy. Unlike annual giving or event-based fundraising, legacy gifts offer a dependable revenue stream that enables nonprofits to focus on long-term impact rather than short-term needs. Are you ready to help them?

Psychology

Bloomerang

MARCH 14, 2025

Introduction If you’re reading this blog post, you’re probably involved in fundraising in some capacity. What if your entire organizationnot just the development departmentfelt a sense of ownership and responsibility for fundraising success? Because when fundraising becomes a team effort, the results speak for themselves.

Finance

iMarketSmart

APRIL 4, 2025

Langley Innovations provides a range of services to its clients to help them understand the cultural underpinnings of philanthropy and the psychology of donors and, with that knowledge, to develop the most effective strategies and tactics to build broader and more lasting communities of support.

Psychology

Nonprofit Fixer

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

Lets be honest, major donor fundraising can feel terrifying at first! Its a lot of pressure and a lot of fundraisers fall prey to self-doubt. Even one donor meeting gone wrong can set back a fundraisers confidence for years. Even one donor meeting gone wrong can set back a fundraisers confidence for years.

Fundraising

The Charity CFO

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

Yet there remain serious challenges and barriers around this kind of philanthropy: Psychological adjustment: Many self-made UHNWIs struggle to adapt to their new wealth status, leading to avoidance or assimilation behaviors that can hinder philanthropy.

Philanthropy

iMarketSmart

MAY 9, 2025

We cant insist that fundraising is a profession that requires deep and broad skills honed over time and updated regularly and then turn that delicate, sophisticated function over to someone with no experience and say, in effect, Do our job for us. Fundraising should be done by experts, not by otherwise gifted amateurs.

Fundraising

iMarketSmart

MARCH 28, 2025

Read or listen to institutional fundraising appeals. Jim has authored numerous books, including his most recent book, The Future of Fundraising: Adapting to New Philanthropic Realities , published by Academic Impressions in 2020. What are many organizations really asking of their donors?

Psychology

iMarketSmart

JUNE 20, 2025

An organization posts an open fundraising job. The person who gets the job saw the delusional thinking in the job description, but, considering it par for the course in the world of fundraising, claimed to have worked a few of those miracles in a previous position or two. They’re looking for a miracle worker.

Fundraising

iMarketSmart

JUNE 13, 2025

Langley Innovations provides a range of services to its clients to help them understand the cultural underpinnings of philanthropy and the psychology of donors and, with that knowledge, to develop the most effective strategies and tactics to build broader and more lasting communities of support.

Psychology

iMarketSmart

JULY 11, 2025

We have massive evidence showing donors: Don’t want to be wined and dined Hate ambush asks Reject organizations that over ask Question why so much is spent on solicitation materials Reject our branded gewgaws Become turned off by hyperbole and advertising copy The more calculated we become, the more we confound donors and disorient fundraisers.

Psychology

Clairification

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

What do you call the folks who respond to your fundraising appeals? Or perhaps The post Nonprofit Fundraising: We Have a Semantics Problem appeared first on Clairification. Are they donors ? Maybe thats okay.

Fundraising

Clairification

APRIL 24, 2025

Okay, lets get to modern nonprofit fundraising. Fundraising Best Practices Background Lots of ideas, plenty of faith, much trial and error and very little data or science. Ive been in the fundraising field over four decades and, trust me, when I began and for too many years thereafter — we were a bit in the middle ages.

Medical

iMarketSmart

JANUARY 17, 2025

Successful fundraising is one of the outcomes an advancement office strives for, but that can’t be achieved if people don’t understand, believe in, and identify with the organization’s purposes and goals. The post No, Advancement Is NOT a Synonym or a Euphemism for Fundraising appeared first on MarketSmart LLC.

Fundraising

iMarketSmart

JUNE 6, 2025

A common Key Performance Indicator (KPI) used to evaluate fundraisers is the number of visits they pay to prospects in their portfolios. Jim has authored numerous books, including his most recent book, The Future of Fundraising: Adapting to New Philanthropic Realities , published by Academic Impressions in 2020.

Philanthropy

Bloomerang

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

Thats a question every fundraiser has encountered. Most importantly, it creates a dynamic asking environment where the donor can ask questions and the fundraiser can nurture a relationship. This is especially true for capital campaigns, program expansions, and during gala fundraisers.

Participation and motivation

Clairification

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

Are you a philanthropy facilitator or a fundraiser? Philanthropy Facilitators Make it Easy for People to Give You may think you’re doing a great job as a fundraiser. How Fundraisers Make Giving Hard When you treat donors like ATMs, you’re thinking about their wallet. This is where I ask you how you view your role.

Philanthropy

Clairification

AUGUST 11, 2025

In “ How to Project Manage Your Nonprofit Story ,” I delved into the concept of story vs. data in creating compelling nonprofit marketing and fundraising copy. And we’re all in that state of uncertainty when we receive a fundraising appeal, right? Stories almost always win out, because human beings are wired for stories.

Fundraising

Clairification

JUNE 19, 2025

Every fundraiser knows the tension: You want to lead with a story that stirs hearts. A box of chocolates approach to fundraising. Your CFO wants broad messaging that raises money for the whole organization. They’re not wrong—unrestricted funding is essential. But broad, abstract appeals rarely move donors to act. A cause they can feel.

Environmental

iMarketSmart

AUGUST 1, 2025

Langley Innovations provides a range of services to its clients to help them understand the cultural underpinnings of philanthropy and the psychology of donors and, with that knowledge, to develop the most effective strategies and tactics to build broader and more lasting communities of support.

Philanthropy

Stanford Social Innovation Review

JANUARY 9, 2025

The effort, led by Tonya Allen of the McKnight Foundation, used a next narrative strategy to rally the GroundBreak Coalition a group of more than 40 corporate, civic, and philanthropic alliesto not only make fundraising history, but also regard their billion dollars as the downpayment on a $5.3 billion goal. Its exhausting.

Homelessness

NonProfit Quarterly

JUNE 17, 2025

We seek to honor the validity of lived experience , but our processes often fail to create the spaciousness and psychological safety necessary to surface and genuinely grapple with multiple experiences and perspectives. We believe in the power of emergence, yet we are drawn to building multiyear plans around scheduled, quantifiable outcomes.

Values

iMarketSmart

APRIL 25, 2025

What good is a reluctant fundraiser? Reluctance can be a fundraising virtue. Jim has authored numerous books, including his most recent book, The Future of Fundraising: Adapting to New Philanthropic Realities , published by Academic Impressions in 2020. Aren’t they professional askers?

Values

iMarketSmart

JULY 18, 2025

Langley Innovations provides a range of services to its clients to help them understand the cultural underpinnings of philanthropy and the psychology of donors and, with that knowledge, to develop the most effective strategies and tactics to build broader and more lasting communities of support. Understand The Donor’s Why LIKE THIS BLOG POST?

Psychology

iMarketSmart

MAY 16, 2025

The organizational representative who wants to build a relationship with you is a fundraiser. But, I advise donors that if they find a good fundraiser, they wont find a better organizational representative for the following reasons. Is this because good fundraisers are just swell people? Talk about conditional love.

Fundraising

iMarketSmart

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

Langley Innovations provides a range of services to its clients to help them understand the cultural underpinnings of philanthropy and the psychology of donors, and with that knowledge, to develop the most effective strategies and tactics to build broader and more lasting communities of support.

Psychology

iMarketSmart

MARCH 14, 2025

Langley Innovations provides a range of services to its clients to help them understand the cultural underpinnings of philanthropy and the psychology of donors and, with that knowledge, to develop the most effective strategies and tactics to build broader and more lasting communities of support.

Retention

Fundraising Leadership

MAY 23, 2025

Standing in the top 10 honors along with Girlboss and Psychology Today, Take The Leads Movement Blog, that has published more than 700 times in the history of Take The Lead, takes a center spot in the weekly newsletter.

Leadership

Candid

MARCH 13, 2025

Burnout isnt just a buzzwordits a well-studied psychological syndrome triggered by chronic job stress. Success and wellness tips for Black fundraisers. Black fundraisers face exhaustion from workplace challenges like race and gender biases, power imbalances, and political polarization.

Health

iMarketSmart

MARCH 7, 2025

Two common oversimplifications related to fundraising are: It’s about relationships It’s about storytelling Yes, but let’s be a bit more precise so these oversimplifications don’t get turned into false expectations and/or meandering practice. When agreements are reached, results must be produced.

Psychology

iMarketSmart

APRIL 9, 2025

Russell James (the foremost researcher in our field) often speaks about the primal motivations for giving , emphasizing that donors give because of deep psychological and identity-driven motivations not just because they were asked. Some skip the second step too, and go straight to explaining how to give. Why Should I Give AGAIN?

Donor Motivation

Clairification

APRIL 28, 2025

Use of Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) as a way for individuals to make charitable contributions continues to rise and grants from DAFs are becoming a growing source of income for charities of all shapes and sizes.

Charitable Contribution

iMarketSmart

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

There would be no fundraising for fundraisings sake. All fundraising would now be in the form of explanations as to how the organization could better serve. Yes, philanthropy would still be pursued but it would be one of many options in the partnership building process. That would not be befitting the office of the president.

Psychology