Visionary Voices

Older and younger woman sharing coffee and warm conversation — the consistent relationships behind strong donor retention

Tools Have Done Their Job. Now We Must Do Ours.

Sanjay Bindra, MD June 3, 2026

Modern tools have solved access, cost, and complexity — yet donor retention stays low and giving stays episodic. The limiting factor is no longer capability; it’s consistency. Over twelve months, one zero-staff nonprofit reinvested the time tools saved into relationships, reaching 98% donor retention and 81% recurring giving on a $10,000 budget. The deeper lesson reaches all the way to planned giving: tools enable the work, but only people build trust.

A wooden signpost indicating the paths to consistency, patience and discipline.

The Missing Discipline in Today’s Wealth Transfer

Cliff Thomas May 29, 2026

Thoughtful, measured estate planning takes discipline and a plan. The intentional transfer of values begins with establishing a family narrative and helps to create a lasting family legacy. When families define their “why” and articulate a shared mission, they connect generations to a deeper purpose that extends beyond wealth preservation.

Red carpet with velvet rope barriers symbolizing donor exclusivity and major gift fundraising concentration

The Sector Is Concentrating Its Way Into Fragility

Mark Dobosz May 14, 2026

The FEP just reported the strongest giving growth in five years. The sector exhaled. I didn’t. Revenue is up because a smaller group of major donors gave more. The donor base shrank again. Concentrated revenue is brittle revenue. The money is concentrated at the top. The mission lives in the many. That gap is the work.

EKG heart-rate line transitioning from chaotic spikes to a steady pulse, illustrating recurring giving and donor retention.

Fundraising’s Acute-Care Problem — and the Cure

Sanjay Bindra, MD May 10, 2026

For decades the nonprofit sector optimized for the first gift. We mastered the handshake. But sustainable fundraising depends on what follows. The GIVE Framework — Gratitude, Impact, Voice, Engagement — argues that recurring giving is not a payment mechanism but an identity shift, built through consistency rather than urgency. From a physician-run foundation that converted a majority of donors to recurring giving without staff or overhead. A clear-eyed account of where the model works, and where it doesn’t.

A "Sorry We're Closed" sign hanging on the glass doors of a shuttered institution.

Hampshire Is Closing. The Press Wrote a Eulogy. Here’s the Autopsy.

Viken Mikaelian April 29, 2026

Twenty-one articles about Hampshire College’s closure. Not one uses the words “planned giving” or “endowment.” The press wrote a eulogy. Here is the autopsy: a board that shrank a $40 million endowment during the longest bull market in history, ate the principal at 9 percent draws, and never built the bequest pipeline that would have made any of this survivable.

Who Pays for Compassion? The Hidden Economy of Mental Health Care

Andy A. Beltrán April 29, 2026

Across community mental health systems, even those that are already publicly funded, there is growing pressure to expand third-party billing as grant funding becomes less stable and more uncertain. But the model is misaligned, and shifts expectations on to the workforce to produce revenue.

Businessman with fingers crossed behind his back—the gap between what's promised and what's delivered

Online Will Planner Trap

Viken Mikaelian April 28, 2026

“When I took the job, my predecessor handed me a spreadsheet of 1,400 ‘bequest intentions.’ Two years later, after working through that list, I can tell you exactly what it was: 1,400 reasons no one had picked up the phone. The platform didn’t fail us. It gave us permission to stop doing the hard part.” — Director of Gift Planning, Regional Hospital System

The Private Sector is out-fundraising us — Part 2

Tess Conrad April 27, 2026

Successful private companies know how to market well — and that means using psychology. Many companies now tell consumers they can “do good” by buying their stuff. They often have better stewardship than most charities. And they keep their messaging simple. T0 “compete,” nonprofits need to up their game, follow the same formula, and focus on marketing and branding.

“Unreasonable Hospitality” Might Be the Fundraising Strategy We’ve Been Missing

Sherry Quam Taylor April 24, 2026

In “Unreasonable Hospitality,” restaurateur Will Guidara make the point that the most unforgettable experiences are built on the desire to be taken care of. If you’ve spent any time in philanthropy, you already know this is not just a restaurant principle. It’s a fundraising principle. By adapting three principles from this idea of unreasonable hospitality, fundraisers and nonprofit leaders can build durable general-operating revenue and a sustainable pipeline.

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