Convergent’s Proven Strategy for YMCA Growth

Convergent is a regular speaker at the North American YMCA Development Organization (NAYDO) Conference on YMCA Philanthropy, speaks at state conferences, and recently exhibited at the YMCA General Assembly in July. Over 4,300 YMCA staffers and volunteers from across the country attended. The conferences revealed emerging challenges facing YMCAs that cannot be solved with a […]

Is Your School Ready for a Capital Campaign?

School Capital Campaign Cheer

Walking before you run, reading over your notes before the big exam, pouring the foundation before the main structure–these all seem like obvious steps in achieving a goal. Yet, in my career as Head of School at several institutions over the past 30 years, I have seen numerous schools fall short of their capital campaign […]

Recession Fears Shouldn’t Stop Fundraising

Recession Fears

It’s hard not to let concerns of an impending recession creep into one’s thoughts. You avoid looking at your 401 (k) because it’s depressing. You consider taking out a loan just to fill up your SUV’s gas tank. You find yourself talking about the good old days when mortgage rates were 3 percent. More times […]

Turning Data into Dollars

Woman smiling with a projected data overlay

A data-driven approach to major gift fundraising and capital campaigns can help you set the bar high, but at an appropriate level, and assure that your funding effort will have the best possible chance for success. I’ll share two examples I’ve recently encountered: Organization A received an abnormally large investment from a first-time donor via […]

Moving Beyond Membership: Funding Your Chamber of Commerce’s Future

Close-up hand arranging wood block stacking up like a staircase

This article was originally published in the ACCE’s Chamber Executive magazine. One of the most pressing demands on chamber professionals is ensuring they have the funding needed to support their organization’s efforts and plan for the future. We recently welcomed Casey Steinbacher as a guest on our podcast. A former CEO of three chambers and an expert […]

Navigating Public-Private Partnerships

Picture of a woman holding a map to navigate the open road

The HBO series The Gilded Age is an interesting study contrasting old New York City with the new money arrivals in the late 1880s. Wealth abounds, there are philanthropic causes to support, yet envy and social standing prohibit the combination of these wealth sources for the common good. Like this dynamic, one of the challenges around economic […]