JoAnn began her nonprofit career in 1977 and has served continuously as staff, board member and/or donor ever since. As a senior consultant with The Alford Group, JoAnn works with diverse client projects ranging from capital campaign design and counsel to fundraising plan development to interim staffing. JoAnn – like all members of The Alford Group – particularly enjoys providing customized services to meet an organization’s unique circumstances.

Multiply Your Impact: Enlist Key Donors to Create a Meaningful Stewardship Plan

Posted on by JoAnn Yoshimoto

By Wendy Hatch, CFRE, Vice President and JoAnn Yoshimoto, CFRE, Senior Consultant

Don’t we all agree that the most precious things in life are worthy of our best attention, effort and care? In the fundraising world, the most precious “things” are our donors and their philanthropic dollars.

Who among us has the luxury of a daily schedule that is just waiting to be filled with new ideas and activities? Nobody that we know! So let’s take 15 minutes – only one percent of our day – to ponder ways to work smarter and multiply the impact of our efforts, and benefit the most precious “things” – our donors!

How do you make sure that your donor stewardship is intentional, timely and effective? You need to plan for it! Wonderful ideas for individual stewardship activities, timelines and plans abound on the internet, so we aren’t going to reiterate them here. The idea we are offering is a strategy for multiplying the impact of your stewardship planning process by also using it as an engagement opportunity for key donors, staff and board members. Continue reading “Multiply Your Impact: Enlist Key Donors to Create a Meaningful Stewardship Plan”

Fundraising in the Asian Community

Posted on by JoAnn Yoshimoto

As one of the most ethnically diverse cities in North America, Vancouver, BC was the perfect setting for the 2014 Giving Institute Summer Symposium. Though I may be biased, I thought one of the highlights of the four-day Symposium was a panel discussion on fundraising in the Asian community. While the topic is vast – the Asian community encompasses more than 40 different ethnic groups – panelists shared their experience working with the Chinese community, both in Vancouver and in mainland China. I had the honor of moderating the session, which opened with a challenge by Dr. Tom Matthews, Head of School at St. George’s School in Vancouver, to a common perception about Asian donors:

“There’s often an underlying premise among mainstream fundraisers that ‘they’ (meaning ethnically diverse donors) don’t understand American-style philanthropy and thus are not good prospects. This sweeping generalization, if taken at face value, can result in many missed opportunities.” Continue reading “Fundraising in the Asian Community”