Often at non-profit forums, I get asked about ways to address “donor fatigue”. But I don’t believe that donor fatigue is a real thing. It is a diplomatic way the media devised for saying that Read more…
Based on what I see as the evolution of giving habits within the high-net worth families in Asia, here are the four categories of philanthropists I have worked with: Altruistic Usually the patriarch of the Read more…
Evaluating activity v/s performance In my last post , I shared my insights on the importance of making Optimism an actvity (yes! not just an attitude) to impact fundraising performance. In this post, I Read more…
“Usha, do we have a plan B?” This recent question from a client with whom I am working on an exciting major gift development plan, triggered the topic for this blog. We were preparing to Read more…
Today is the 67th Independence Day of India. Such milestones are good time to reflect on the past and forecast the way forward. Hence I will focus on fundraising insights from India, one of the countries that are generating tremendous fundraising interest globally. These reflections are based on my ‘on-the-ground’ experiences working with non-profit leaders, fundraisers, corporate decision makers as well as donors and philanthropist in India and across Asia. (more…)
Here is an analogy to fundraising from the Sanskrit scriptures that I have derived many lessons from. It is about Ganesha and his brother Kartikeya, who were tasked by their parents to go around the world three times. While Kartikeya set out on the task immediately, circumambulating the globe as instructed, Ganesha chose to walked around his parents, Shiva and Parvati, with great devotion three times.
When asked by his brother to explain his action, Ganesha replied, “you chose to go around ‘the world’, I did so around ‘my world’. Ganesha was pronounced the victor of this task by his parents. (more…)
