Dancing for a Cause: What Zumba Taught Me About Major Donor Cultivation
The principles that make Zumba work turn out to apply remarkably well to major donor fundraising. Hannah Shepherd draws out the parallels — authentic connection, consistent rhythm, active listening, proper warm-ups, and patience with individual timelines.
How to Discover What Really Matters to Your Major Donors (Without Guesswork)
Understanding what drives your major donors is not about reading between the lines — it is about asking the right questions and creating the right conditions for an honest conversation. Hannah Shepherd explains how to do this in a way that feels natural rather than transactional.
Why Major Donor Fundraisers Should Love the Sunday Times Rich List
Major donor fundraisers often dismiss the Sunday Times Rich List as irrelevant, or misuse it as a direct prospect source. Hannah Shepherd explains what it is actually useful for — understanding wealth patterns and sectors — and how to use those insights to identify better prospects in your own networks.
Does your Case for Support pass the Why? test?
It used to be the natural thing for us to question everything – we asked why? all the time. Over time we’ve stopped doing that so much – we know more, we don’t ask as much. Asking “yeah, but why?” about your fundraising proposition is a good test of whether you’ve arrived at the nub of the issue yet… and if you can’t answer the whys that you come up with you won’t be answering the whys of your audience.
Thank. Your. Donors.
Say thank you. Regardless of what the donor says. And listen hard for what the donor means when they say “no need to thank me” in case they mean “don’t make a fuss” or “don’t tell people” but would love for you to say thank you!