It's another Masterclass inspired episode. In this episode, Clark Vandeventer shares some of his notes from Levar Burton's MasterClass on Storytelling.

You may know LeVar Burton from his years as host of Reading Rainbow.

LeVar talks about how to tell a great story, but Clark emphasizes that great stories only resonnate when they are told be a trusted source, and trust is developed in relationship.

So, as an organization, where are you lacking?

Are you lacking in storytelling?

Or are you lacking in relationships?

Link to LeVar's MasterClass:

https://www.masterclass.com/classes/levar-burton-teaches-the-power-of-storytelling

Clark also shared in this episode that

1. We are giving away FREE ACCESS to ⁠MasterClass⁠! Sign up for ⁠Peak Performance Fundraising⁠ (basically THE MasterClass of Fundraising) and get a one year subscription to MasterClass for free! Peak Performance Fundraising is normally $1495, but we are offering it now for only $500, but you have to email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com to get a promo code.
2. We are hiring a Podcast Producer and Social Media Manager! We are seeking a creative and detail-oriented Podcast Producer and Social Media Manager to oversee the production of our podcast series and manage our social media presence. The ideal candidate will be responsible for all aspects of podcast production and will develop and implement social media strategies to promote our content and engage with our audience. This will be the lead person working to transform the Major Gifts Fundraiser Podcast and the Around the World with Mr. Clark Podcast from basic “click record and talk” podcasts and  into beautifully produced podcasts and to create dynamic and engaging social media content to promote these podcasts and grow our influence and impact. If you are interested, or know someone who could be a fit, reach out to Clark directly at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/majorgiftsfundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Facebook:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/majorgiftsfundraiser⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on LinkedIn:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/major-gifts-fundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email Clark:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Zoom with Clark:

Find an available time on Clark’s calendar and schedule a Zoom call him: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://calendly.com/clarkvand⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://majorgiftsfundraiser.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host Clark Vandeventer talks about figuring out the right amount to ask for.

Fundraisers! Do you have a hard time knowing the right amount to ask for? Can you ask for too much? What if you "leave money on the table"?

Clark gives some guidance on figuring out the right amount to ask for.

Check out Clark's "other" podcast Around the World with Mr. Clark, available wherever you get your podcasts! Also of note:

1. We are giving away FREE ACCESS to ⁠⁠MasterClass⁠⁠! Sign up for ⁠⁠Peak Performance Fundraising⁠⁠ (basically THE MasterClass of Fundraising) and get a one year subscription to MasterClass for free! Peak Performance Fundraising is normally $1495, but we are offering it now for only $500, but you have to email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com to get a promo code.
2. We are hiring a Podcast Producer and Social Media Manager! We are seeking a creative and detail-oriented Podcast Producer and Social Media Manager to oversee the production of our podcast series and manage our social media presence. The ideal candidate will be responsible for all aspects of podcast production and will develop and implement social media strategies to promote our content and engage with our audience. This will be the lead person working to transform the Major Gifts Fundraiser Podcast and the Around the World with Mr. Clark Podcast from basic “click record and talk” podcasts and  into beautifully produced podcasts and to create dynamic and engaging social media content to promote these podcasts and grow our influence and impact. If you are interested, or know someone who could be a fit, reach out to Clark directly at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/majorgiftsfundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Facebook:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/majorgiftsfundraiser⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on LinkedIn:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/major-gifts-fundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email Clark:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Zoom with Clark:

Find an available time on Clark’s calendar and schedule a Zoom call him: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://calendly.com/clarkvand⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://majorgiftsfundraiser.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Do you know who your top people are? Your Top 2-3 prospects? Your Top 5? Your Top 10? This may be the masterskill of success in fundraising. And, you could get the names wrong and still be right!

Email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/majorgiftsfundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Facebook:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/majorgiftsfundraiser⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on LinkedIn:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/major-gifts-fundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email Clark:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Zoom with Clark:

Find an available time on Clark’s calendar and schedule a Zoom call him: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://calendly.com/clarkvand⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://majorgiftsfundraiser.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Have you heard that you should only be talking 25% of any donor meeting? Maybe you have, and you've wondered why. Here's why. It doesn't matter how articulate you are. It's not about impressing yourself. It's about winning the heart of the donor. 

Is it important to thank you donors? Yes, absolutely. You should always be thanking your donors. Always saying thank you. Always exuding gratitude. But your meetings with donors aren't just a massive thank-you tour. If that's your approach, it's going to be hard to get second meetings. Give your meetings a sense of purpose. As a donor I should feel like this conversation and this relationship is going somewhere.

How can your donors know if what you're telling them is actually true? How can they know if you are actually spending the money they give on the things you tell them the money is going towards? In this episode, Clark talks about how to become a trusted advisor to your donors, and when you are TRUSTED, they will believe what you say -- and they will ultimately determine whether or not what you're telling them is true based upon the RELATIONSHIP.

In this episode Clark interviews Monica about how she got started in fundraising -- raising money to go on a year-long mission with her church to Ireland. Clark sometimes tells big stories about million dollar gifts. Do the same principles apply to smaller gifts? Monica was asking for $100 gifts 20 years ago and she talks about the process -- and winning the hearts of her donors. The other big thing that grew out of Monica's first fundraising experience? She and Clark started dating, fell off a cliff together, and eventually got married!

People choose what's most familiar. Make it easy for your donors to choose you by becoming familiar to your donors. In this episode Clark recounts a story from his 2010 run for United States Congress, and how he lost to a name that was more familiar.

In this episode Clark talks about the short book, "A Spirituality of Fundraising" by the beloved author and theologian Henri Nouwen. Clark talks about why he hates the term "donors" and why he prefers to the term "partners" and the joy of being all wrapped up with others in a shared mission and vision.  For more information about anything Clark mentions in this episode you can email him at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com.

Getting started in estate planning does not have to be hard, or expensive. Just start talking to your donors about including your organization in their will. Clark goes through 5 easy steps to take that cost little or no money and talks about an experience on the road with an organization where that organization was talking about estate planning for the very first time. 

In this episode Clark shares insights from several hours of interviews with major donors asking them why they give. This is an important episode for fundraisers who struggle with the challenge of raising unrestricted funds -- and also for fundraisers who have an exciting project to sell as Clark has a word of caution from major donors about your exciting project. To get a free copy of the audio program that Clark references, "Major Donor Giving Secrets Revealed" just email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com.

In this episode Clark talks about the Mondays! Are you excited to go to work on Monday? Sure, there may be a tinge of sadness, but you ought to be excited to go to work to accomplish your goals and your mission. If you're not, maybe it's time for a gut check.

In this episode Clark talks about the importance of setting big goals and then breaking those down so that we see what we need to do month by month. He specifically talks about the number of meetings you should be having with your donors and prospective donors, and how to determine the right number of meetings you should have in a year. Set big goals! Your number should be big enough so that when you achieve it, you feel awesome. Quotes from Daniel Burnham and Machiavelli on setting big goals and making mistakes of ambition.

Where are you essential as a fundraiser? As a human being? In this episode Clark talks about focusing on the most important things.

Don't foget -- email Clark to reserve your spot in a group coaching cohort. Deadline is January 31.

Email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/majorgiftsfundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Facebook:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/majorgiftsfundraiser⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on LinkedIn:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/major-gifts-fundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email Clark:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Zoom with Clark:

Find an available time on Clark’s calendar and schedule a Zoom call him: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://calendly.com/clarkvand⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://majorgiftsfundraiser.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode Clark talks about how to establish a calendar that ensures you are doing the basics of a professional development operation. The higher your "minimum acceptable" the better off you'll be. Don't  be intimidated by "big" organizations. You aren't competing against them. You're just trying to improve yourself and be better than you were last year.

Season 2 of the podcast is here! In this episode Clark talks about the untimely death of Kobe Bryant, and how Clark was inspired by Kobe's intensity of purpose. He was disciplined, focused on his goals, and emulated excellence. 

Clark talks about lessons learned from a round of recent donor meetings and how a donor's philanthropic disposition can be more important than their financial capacity.

Getting started in estate planning does not have to be hard. It starts with a simple question. Just ask your donors if they've included any organizations in their will. Or ask if they'd consider including your organization in their will. Clark talks about conversations he had with donors on a recent donor trip about estate planning.

Clark often mentions how much he's learned about life and fundraising through endurance athletic events, but rarely does he go into exactly what he's learned. In this episode Clark talks about some of the big lessons from the past and his recent 100K run. You can reach out to Clark directly at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

In this episode Clark talks about how it should be easy to thank our donors because our thanks should come from a place of genuine gratitude. Shares a few ideas to help you dig deep within yourself to find that gratitude. Talks about Thanksgiving traditions with family and with donors. Email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com to share your Thanksgiving traditions. 

Clark's simple prayer 🙏 every morning that makes life easy -- and the hard questions he asks to redeem otherwise sucky days. If this message resonates with you, please reach out to Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

It would be foolish to think that all you have to do to raise a lot of money on Giving Tuesday is put up a post and tag #GivingTuesday or email your donors and tell them "today's giving Tuesday!" Donors don't give because you tell them today's the day they're supposed to give. They give beacuse they are excited about your mission. Here's how to get your donors excited about your mission, and then use Giving Tuesday as the forcing function that prompts people to give. 

Are you afraid to ask strategic questions? Fearful of what might happen when you ask a pointed "development type" question. 2,200+ donor meetings into his career, Clark is yet to be thrown out of someone's home! When you ask strategic questions, you indicate where the relationship is going. More obvious, the donor answers the question! Clark walks through 5 different strategic questions, and actual answers he has gotten from donors when asking these questions.

Have you ever heard the rule, "If you're not early you're late."? Clark heard his old mentor, the late, great Jerold Panas use that line many times. So Clark was impressed with himself as a young development officer when he was with Jerry Panas to go to a meeting and they arrived at the donor's home early. That's when Clark learned the exception to the "if you're not early you're late" rule.

Have you heard the legendary story of the guy who returned tires to Nordstrom? In this episode, Clark Vandeventer recounts the story of a recent experience he had with a local business, and how these employees were clearly not trained by Nordstroms. Examples of how you can set yourself apart as a fundraiser by BEING KNOWLEDGABLE.

Email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/majorgiftsfundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Facebook:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/majorgiftsfundraiser⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on LinkedIn:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/major-gifts-fundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email Clark:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Zoom with Clark:

Find an available time on Clark’s calendar and schedule a Zoom call him: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://calendly.com/clarkvand⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://majorgiftsfundraiser.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Do you have a list of things that need to change at your organization? Would it be easier to raise money if you had more prospects? More territory? A better donor database program? A bigger vision? A special campaign or capital campaign? Stop making excuses. The best fundraisers take the names that they have and they do well with those names.

Great service comes from the heart, and there may not be a better story of heartfelt service than the story of Johnny the Bagger. Think about how you can create memorable experiences with your organization for everyone you interact with, donors, volunteers, and recipients of your services.

Getting in the way of success. Success is like a river -- it's flowing -- and if you just get out of your office you can't help but get swept up in it. going on donor trips generates a plethora of moves on our donors. There are visit letters, visit calls, and visit emails -- and then the visits -- and then the follow-up from the visits. And then the follow-up on all the people you couldn't get meetings with. Preparing for, going on, and following up on donor visits is THE work of a fundraiser. When you stop planning, going, and following up on visits, all you're doing is going to staff meetings -- and you don't raise money going to staff meetings!

The end of October is the time to start reviewing your list and thinking about who you need to be in front of before the end of the year. Then, as mid-December approaches, you need to think about who you are going to meet the first week of the new year. 

Clark tells tells the story of a recent fundraising he went to, as a prospect, invited by a friend who had sponsored a table. There were a lot of things they did right, but one thing he really disagreed with. 

Systems are great. But in an effort to achieve economy of scale, how are you watering down the giving experience your donors have with your organization? Ask yourself this question often. 

Are you having a hard time believing that you can be really successful? Clark talks about nagging issues that erode at mental mastery. Are you experiencing any of these?

Clark talks about creating our own self-fulfilling prophecies. We become what we think about most of the time. Commit time to thinking about being a great fundraiser.. Plus, Clark talks about getting ready for #GivingTuesday

You want to know that you are doing a good job. You want to KNOW. You also want your boss to know. You don't want your boss saying, "I think she's doing a good job." You want your boss to come to you and ask you what you're doing, because your boss wants everyone doing it. This kind of success starts with mental mastery. Plus, Clark talks about getting ready for #GivingTuesday

You have precious little time with any donor to really make your pitch. In this episode Clark goes through ten things about great stories. Plus, are you ready for #GivingTuesday? Get our free Guide to Maximizing #GivingTuesday.

Clark Vandeventer opens this episode by talking about a favorite mantra: things you measure get better, things you don't won't.

Also, when we expect and require excellence of ourselves in one area, that bleeds over to other areas of our life.

Then, Clark gives some tips on how you can use the month of November to report on your good work while expressing gratitude.

Email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/majorgiftsfundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Facebook:

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/majorgiftsfundraiser⁠⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on LinkedIn:

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/major-gifts-fundraiser/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email Clark:

⁠⁠⁠⁠clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

Zoom with Clark:

Find an available time on Clark’s calendar and schedule a Zoom call him: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://calendly.com/clarkvand⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://majorgiftsfundraiser.com/⁠⁠⁠

You're looking at a list of donors to your organization. Some of the names you know, but many of them you don't. How do you know which names to focus on? In this episode Clark talks about 5 things that get his attention when he's reviewing a list of donors. Here are 5 clues that a donor with a modest or short giving history may be your next major donor. 

How do you get your donors to choose you? How do you break through the noise. Out of all the non-profits they could love, how do you get them to love you? Clark talks about how he became a Cubs fan, becoming familiar with your donors, getting your donors to choose you, and why he's not a Cubs fan anymore. Get your donors to visit you!

How are you at telling your story? Clark talks about the process he's going through with clients to help them better tell their story and attract new donors -- and tells the story of how he first got into fundraising as a broke college student, tried to get out of non-profit work, and stumbled into the work he was born to do.

You want to close more gifts. You'd like to close more of the gifts you ask for. If you're nervous about asking for gifts, it may be because you've been told no so many times. In this episode Clark talks about increasing your close ratio. Increase your close ratio by continually asking yourself this question: "Is this the next right thing with this donor?" 

You want to have quality relationships with your donors. Good relationships develop on the foundation of many shared experiences and touches. Clark shares 3 simple routines to help you add many more donor interactions and build better donor relationships. Good development work is methodical development work. Develop these routines and be the first organization a donor thinks of when he or she is ready to give a gift above and beyond anything they've given before.

Just because you have a few different gift thresholds does not mean that you are going to start closing gifts at those levels. Clark makes some clarifications to his previous episode on giving clubs and getting started with estate gifts. Have gift clubs. Talk about estate planning. But don't think you're going to start magically getting people to give at these levels just because the levels exist.

You want to give your donors an easy next step to increase their support. Once they love you, they'll be looking for what's next. Giving levels help your donors see the next step. Clark also talks about getting started with estate planning -- and how you don't need to hire a firm to start inviting donors to include you in their will.

You want to do more than ever before. You want to achieve your maximum potential. Clark talks about how to achieve uncommon success -- and success that's aligned with your values. Goal setting guidelines and ideas for qualitative and quantitative goals for fundraisers.

Are you ready to take on something big? To achieve more than you have ever achieved? To progress further and faster? Part of 1 Clark talking about Goals. Achieving goals is almost automatic. Our brain has within in a goal seeking mechanism that drives us, even subconsciously, toward their goals. Most people don't realize this, and therefore their goals are too small. Clark goes through 7 reasons why people don't set goals.

Good development work is methodical development work. Don't think about moving mountains, think about moving buckets. What's one thing you can do today to move your relationship with just one donor forward? Implement Clark's "one more thing" idea and watch buckets turn into mountains.

In this epsidode host Clark Vandeventer shares and expands on 3 ideas from Brian Tracy's book "Be a Sales Superstar." This is Part 2.

Building Long-Term Relationships

Using Educational Selling

Building Mega-credibility

Email Clark at clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/majorgiftsfundraiser/⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on Facebook:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/majorgiftsfundraiser⁠⁠⁠

Major Gifts Fundraiser on LinkedIn:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/major-gifts-fundraiser/⁠⁠⁠

Email Clark:

⁠⁠⁠clark@majorgiftsfundraiser.com⁠⁠⁠

Zoom with Clark:

Find an available time on Clark’s calendar and schedule a Zoom call him: ⁠⁠⁠https://calendly.com/clarkvand⁠⁠⁠

Learn more at:

⁠⁠⁠https://majorgiftsfundraiser.com/⁠⁠⁠

Our donors won’t open up to us just because we’ll listen. They have to think that we’re worth talking to. Once you’ve become a trusted adviser, the stories you tell have the potential to be powerful stories. If you’re not a trusted adviser, they’re just stories. Clark goes over key components of a great story. Stories are what spread. Tell great stories that your donors can grab onto and make their own. Tailor your stories to an audience of one based on the donor's listening preference.

Donors will judge whether or not what you say to them is true based upon your relationship with them. Here are 10 Traits of Trusted Advisors. Be a Trusted Advisor to your donors.

Do people give to people? You may have heard that people give to people. Clark always says major donors give to mission, but now he says that mission isn't enough.