Why your Board and Staff need first-hand experience
I’ve written extensively about the importance and benefits of taking major donors to the field. In this article, I’d like to highlight the value that your organization can gain from sending board and staff members. In some organizations with international missions, it is routine for executive and development teams to make multiple site visits. In […]
3 Initiatives Every Donor Trip Should Support
When planning to take donors or volunteers to the field, it is imperative that the trip aligns with your organization’s Mission, Strategic Plan, and Development Plan. Failure to think through a travel program’s role in each of these three could result in creating unachievable goals for the trip – or worse – no goals at […]
Why you MUST ask for the gift on the trip (and how to do it) Part 2
Part 1 of this article focuses on why it is imperative to ask for the gift during a donor trip. Not before – when the donor has yet to see the incredible impact, and not after – when the climactic moment has passed and their attention may have shifted. Making the ask on the trip […]
Metrics and Measurements for Travel Programs
Everyday nonprofits are running travel programs for donors, board members, and volunteers without having any metrics in place to determine the program’s success. We’re all very familiar with the metrics and measurements we use in our mission-related work (also called Monitoring & Evaluation), as well as the benchmarks and goals we set for fundraising (as […]
Three Kinds of Philanthropic Travel Programs (and what to do with each)
While there can be a lot of variety in terms of structure, purpose, and implementation, most philanthropic travel programs fall into three categories. It is helpful to understand these categories and their distinctions so that you can evaluate your organization’s current travel program and its ABC’s (actions, benefits, and challenges). For organizations who have yet […]