The Philanthropic Quest: Advanced ideas for senior development professionals (and those who want to be wise beyond their years).

You’ll never think about raising money the same way again.

A special message from Jim Lord …

For most of my 40 years in this profession, I’ve been creating new ideas and methods that raise philanthropy to greater heights.

Now, I don’t mean trendy fund-raising gimmicks. (There are plenty of those already.)

I’m talking about a quantum leap in our ability to attract philanthropy … advance our organizations of social good … and create a brighter future for those we serve.

A consultant in one of my workshops called it “the next generation in fund raising.” (I like to call it “The Philanthropic Quest.”)

And this may seem like a bold statement, but I believe it’s the most important innovation in the field since the introduction of the capital campaign. (Seriously.)

Here’s a quick look at how The Philanthropic Quest takes us to the next level …

Conventional fund raising	The Philanthropic Quest
Needs and problems	Strengths and possibilities
Organization wants to get something	Donor wants to do something
The kind of organization the professional wants	The kind of world the donor wants
Tell organization’s story	Listen to donors’ stories
Professional is acquisitive	Professional is inquisitive
Cultivation	Collaboration
Scripted event: the “ask”	Authentic lifelong relationships
Token gifts	Full-of-meaning commitments
Control fund-raising costs	Invest to build equity
Incremental advances	Unprecedented breakthroughs
“Catch-up, get-by” fund raising	Optimal philanthropy
Scarcity of resources	Abundance of resources

The Philanthropic Quest series

In The Philanthropic Quest series, this next-generation approach is presented in eight brief-yet-meaty installments — which together make up an advanced learning program for development professionals.

The series complements The Raising of Money, my little book for trustees, and provides a systematic approach to attracting unprecedented philanthropy.

(Indeed, one aim of The Philanthropic Quest is the transformative philanthropic commitment: the largest contribution in the history of your organization or cause.)

Here’s what you’ll learn as you turn the pages …

1 Introduction to The Quest

All around us, people are talking about constraints. “The pie is only so big.” But does anyone really know what’s possible — what optimal fund-raising performance looks like?

The surprising reason many organizations are short of their potential. (It sure isn’t for lack of effort on your part.)
How one person can make the difference. (I’ll bet you have a donor who’s longing to do great things, if you could just create the right conditions.)
Why it’s high time to redefine our professional role. (This is the key to making your professional life even more rewarding.)

2 The Management of Change — and Resistance

There’s more here than meets the eye — more resistance and more energy.

How to handle the structural ambiguity of your role. (After all, it’s quite a feat to influence the influencers.)
Why it may be entirely reasonable to be repelled by fund raising. (Get this surprising idea, and you’ll come to love it when someone says, “I just don’t like asking for money.”)
How to deal with resistance to change. (It’s not as hard as it seems, if you start in the right place.)

3 Managing Change by Designing the Future

Change is central to breakthrough philanthropy — and we are the agents of change.

What it takes to make a real breakthrough and move your organization to a whole new level of performance. (Sometimes it’s easier to take a leap than to inch forward.)
How to cultivate vision, confidence, and hope. (This is the bedrock of philanthropy and voluntary action.)
Four steps to generating the largest contribution in your history. (And why that “contribution” may be different from what you’re thinking.)

4 Standing Outside Your Organization

What happens when we transcend the day-to-day busy-ness — and take a wider look at the true potential of our noble profession?

What the philanthropist gets from philanthropy. (It may be a lot more than you think.)
Why we may be wearing out our welcome — and maybe even suffocating the philanthropic spirit. (If you’re dealing with “donor fatigue,” you’ll want to pay close attention here.)
How to find a new place to stand, in the donor’s reality. (This is the path to the authentic relationships we all crave, especially these days.)

5 How The Quest is Different From Conventional Fund Raising

The “fund raiser” deals in money. Those engaged in The Quest deal in meaning, knowing that the money will follow.

10 ways The Quest is different from what you may be used to. (Here’s a surprise: “The ask” is not the pivotal event most people make it out to be.)
How a full-of-meaning commitment can change your organization’s “giving culture.” (That unspoken norm can either expand or restrict your success — and it’s yours to shape, once you understand it.)
Why an incremental, “balanced-scorecard” fund raising program can actually keep you from thriving. (It’s time to resist the urgent, the small, the short-term … so you can work toward breakthroughs — even if just one afternoon a week.)

6 Authentic Involvement, Engagement and Collaboration

We can create the conditions for optimal philanthropy, but it means bucking some of today’s conventional wisdom.

How a superficial “cultivation” program can backfire. (The fine art of “pretend participation” just doesn’t cut it any more.)
Why, despite current trends to the contrary, volunteers and donors must be at the center of the action. (This makes your role different — and much larger — than most people think.)
Why you want to obsess over the quality of your relationships, not the size of your transactions. (Get this on track and your organization will always stand out in the crowd.)

7 Facilitating the Emergence of Leadership

With great volunteer leadership, all things are possible. Yet many an advancement program has run aground on this particular rock.

How to enlist the best leaders through structured, genuine engagement. (This is a process, and you’ll want to plan ahead — so it’s smart to get started right away.)
The most important quality to look for in a volunteer leader. (Hint: It’s not a desire to control people!)
Why I want you to go for the best, instead of settling for who you think you can get. (You’ll only know what’s possible if you raise your sights.)

8 Rites of Passage

Eliciting extraordinary leadership calls for an extraordinary approach — one that kindles individual passion and raises the sights of all. (Including you.)

How transformative experiences can enlarge the volunteer’s self-concept, as well as the way they see the organization. (These “rites of passage” lead naturally and organically to acts of leadership and meaningful financial commitments.)
9 methods that can be part of The Philanthropic Quest. (The best of traditional fund raising practice meets the best new thinking from the behavioral sciences and the business world.)
How you can make serving on a board or committee a transformative experience for volunteers. (After all, the people who can really make a difference want to be involved in projects that fire their imaginations — not just routine work.)

Until now, these advanced ideas have been available only to my consulting clients and workshop participants, and a select group of senior practitioners.

I’ve decided to offer this series much more widely, because it’s high time to spread these ideas throughout our profession — so we can bring the facilitation of philanthropy to new heights and activate even more human energy for the common good.

What will you find in these pages? (And what won’t you find?)

First, this series is not a simplistic “how-to” manual. (You deserve better than a cookie-cutter process that doesn’t respect your wisdom … and doesn’t take into account your particular situation.)

I do, however, discuss in some detail the new methods I’m using and advocating. The point is for you to understand the principles behind the methods. (Big leverage comes from big ideas.)

Nor is this series a collection of homespun wisdom and personal anecdotes. (Although it does contain numerous examples from the field.)

I aimed higher than that.

I stepped back and took a whole new look at the work we do, the organizations we do it for, the donors and volunteers we work with, and the world in which all of us (volunteers and professionals alike) operate.

I asked not only, “What’s right with this picture?” but also “Could it be even better?”

Do we even know what optimal fund-raising performance would look like?

What’s the true potential of philanthropy?

How much could be accomplished — for our organizations, for our communities, for all of humanity?

In short, I went for the kind of high-level thinking that can change the future of your organization. (Not to mention your own future.)

Whether you’re a seasoned development officer or new to the fundraising profession, this series will support your highest aspirations, accelerate your professional development, and enable you to make an even greater contribution to the common good.

(Isn’t that why you chose this profession in the first place?)

As you can tell, this isn’t for everyone

Sadly, I’ve found that some folks have let themselves get too beaten down by the “conventional wisdom” (or too swallowed up by the daily grind) to accept the opportunities this series offers.

But if you’re the kind of person who’s truly open to new ideas and ways of getting things done, you just might find it the most stimulating learning experience — and the most useful — that you’ve had in a long time.

You might even turn out to be one of those who helps to introduce “the next generation of fund raising.”

Welcome to the adventure!

Here’s what to do next

Start your subscription today — and once a month for the next 8 months, you’ll be mailed an installment of The Philanthropic Quest series. Each one averages about 50 pages, for a quick read. (Your time is precious, so I made a special effort to keep it brief and to-the-point.)

If you’re eager to move more quickly toward the new possibilities that await you, you can get all eight in one shipment. Just check the box on the order form.

You’ll also get the first installment — Introduction to The Quest — right away as a downloadable PDF, so you can get started today.

$275 • CLICK HERE TO ORDER

My personal guarantee that your investment will prove to be a wise one: Return the series within a year and receive a full refund. Simple, straightforward, no questions asked.

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The Philanthropic Quest