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Grenzebach Glier and Associates partners with nonprofit institutions that transform lives and strengthen civil society. We develop innovative, bespoke solutions that respond to our partners’ distinct needs to ensure they are well-positioned to thrive amid this challenging moment, and well into the future.

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GG+A Playbook: Leading in Times of Change

Leading in today’s environment is an increasingly challenging task as institutions are facing the realities of the “great resignation” and economic uncertainty, among other more individualized factors. It is often in the face of barriers and challenges where innovation and “out of the box” strategies are born.

GG+A Playbook: New strategies for a new (fiscal) year

The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to rethink and reevaluate how we approach every facet of advancement, from discovery and qualification to stewardship and events. Operating in this new normal has presented a wide array of new, unforeseen challenges for fundraisers across sectors. However, in spite of the relentless challenges that have arisen from this unprecedented situation, a flood of creative solutions have emerged. These solutions have transformed the ways in which we operate and are showing no signs of slowing down. In this issue of the GG+A Playbook, we’re highlighting some of the best of those approaches.

GG+A Playbook: Annual giving: Strategies to drive growth

Annual giving plays a critical role within our organizational fundraising strategy. It is where we begin cultivating relationships with many of our most significant donors, a key means by which we engage a wide group of our constituents, and how we raise vital discretionary funds. Yet despite the importance of annual giving, it often operates quietly in the background. But in recent years, high-performing institutions have developed innovative new practices that we can all learn from.

GG+A Playbook: Volunteers: Engaging your most valued partner

Volunteers play several key roles within our organizations. They are some of our most trusted advisors, most valued ambassadors, and most important donors. Their work has proven invaluable as they helped many institutions weather the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

GG+A Playbook: Why stewardship matters: Creative solutions to engage donors now and into the future

Stewardship is a crucial ingredient for every high-performing institution. It deepens relationships, binds people to the institution, and inspires future gifts. Yet, we know it is also an area that often gets overlooked or underfunded as institutions have to make choices about deploying resources.

GG+A Playbook: Rethink the discovery process: Strategies to unlock support from your donors and prospects

No element of major gift officers’ work generates more unease than discovery. Although most gift officers—and most institutions—recognize the importance of building their major gift pipelines, the discovery process can be difficult. GG+A surveys of major gift training and coaching participants have consistently found that they rank the difficulty of securing initial appointments as the most difficult and least satisfying part of their jobs. And fundraisers are too valuable a resource to have them participate in activities that yield limited results.

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Building, and rebuilding, a museum development program: lessons from abroad

Claire Gylphé, who has served as Director of Development at Tate since June 2019, spoke with GG+A’s Chris Begley about her perspective on fundraising in the UK versus the US, and how Tate is rethinking its fundraising after the pandemic year.

4 keys to retaining fundraising talent in a hot job market

We’re in the midst of a moment of dramatic change across American life as people in all industries are quitting their jobs at record numbers. That’s creating significant problems for many employers, including many nonprofit institutions’ fundraising teams. The Great Resignation phenomenon only intensifies an already-challenging situation as many fundraising teams struggled to maintain staff even before the pandemic. There’s a real cost to that turnover given that our industry is built around relationships. Here’s how to combat those trends.

It's never been more important to build a culture of philanthropy

While it has always been important to build a culture of philanthropy, the pandemic has illuminated the need for institutions to have a sustainable fundraising model that is focused on individual donors. After all, individual donors account for the majority of giving. That means that several types of institutions have found they need to adjust their approaches, including those with event-based and corporate-focused models, as well as those with little to no advancement program in place. While that pivot can be difficult, the short-term pain is often necessary to position an institution for long-term success.

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