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Steier Tips

After nearly a quarter century of helping nonprofits plan, reach and exceed their fundraising goals, we’ve accomplished a lot – and learned a thing or two. Our Steier Tips page features the latest Steier Group fundraising advice from our team of experts, case studies and helpful insight to consider as you plan your next campaign.

Feb 22 2024

Fundraising trends to watch this year

By Steier Tips

It’s a new year, and while the basic formula for fundraising may seem the same, in many ways the landscape for organizations that rely on generous donations is new terrain. Though the latest news for inflation is more hopeful, there is still some uncertainty about whether that will hold steady or if it is a short relief. New technology is also something fundraisers will need to know more about as new capital campaigns are considered by many organizations. These factors and others contribute to fundraising trends in 2024: Establishing donor trust: Between inflation and greater pressure for charitable organizations to…

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Jan 31 2024

Faithful Stewardship for the Universal Church

By podcast, Steier Tips

The Steier Group is proud to present our podcast, Twelve Wicker Baskets with Christopher Beaudet. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app. In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance. The 23rd…

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Jan 09 2024

How to maximize your grant writing potential

By Steier Tips

When you launch a capital campaign and you’re faced with the work that goes into such an effort, it’s easy to dream that some billionaire or foundation will swoop in and award you a massive grant that will fully fund all of your projects and initiatives. Unfortunately, that’s almost certainly not going to happen. Never say never, but you can’t rely on a guardian angel to save the day. You need to put in the work to establish your goals, recruit your volunteers and leaders, and figure out how much to ask and from whom – and then actually make…

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Dec 27 2023

The Eucharist: Source and Summit of Stewardship

By podcast, Steier Tips

The Steier Group is proud to present our podcast, Twelve Wicker Baskets with Christopher Beaudet. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app. In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance. The 22nd…

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Dec 04 2023

Campaign planning studies are vital for successful campaigns

By Steier Tips

A well-run campaign planning study is the launching pad for a successful capital campaign. Many organizations question the reasoning and value behind a planning or feasibility study. At the Steier Group, we almost always advocate for conducting this important exercise before jumping into fundraising. The goal of a study is to interview or survey as many of your potential donors as possible during the study. The feedback you receive sets the table for a successful campaign. The insights shared by your supporters allows an organization to customize a plan that will be most successful for your community. Here are five…

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Nov 29 2023

Faithful Entrepreneurship: Co-Creating with God

By podcast, Steier Tips

The Steier Group is proud to present our podcast, Twelve Wicker Baskets with Christopher Beaudet. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app. In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance. The 21st…

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Oct 25 2023

Trends in the Church: Bad News or Opportunities? with Matt Vuorela

By podcast, Steier Tips

The Steier Group is proud to present our podcast, Twelve Wicker Baskets with Christopher Beaudet. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app. In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance. The 20th…

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Sep 27 2023

The Impact of a Stewardship Heart with Jamie Crane

By podcast, Steier Tips

The Steier Group is proud to present our podcast, Twelve Wicker Baskets with Christopher Beaudet. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app. In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance. The 19th…

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Sep 15 2023

Lessons from Twelve Wicker Baskets

By Steier Tips, Steier Wire

Launched in February 2022, Twelve Wicker Baskets, the Steier Group’s podcast, broadly explores all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of parishes, Catholic schools, dioceses and beyond. The idea for the podcast arose when firm management began to reflect on 25 years of service and how to engage the depth and breadth of knowledge that has accumulated over many different capital campaigns for Catholic dioceses, churches, schools and organizations. “We wanted to connect the work of the development professional and the pastoral leader with the deep roots of stewardship in the Catholic tradition, and it’s become…

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Sep 08 2023

Creating a comprehensive development plan with moments, movements and missions

By Steier Tips

“Our big fundraiser for the year is _____________.” I hear this a lot when speaking with smaller organizations about their fundraising and development strategy. This response tells me a few things about the organization: They do not have an informed development plan. Because of that, they invest their time in all the wrong places. Their donors are not as engaged as they could be. The organization is nowhere near its fundraising potential. But, it is not all doom and gloom. Here’s what else I hear: Their donor engagement funnel is very top-heavy. In other words, there is a lot of…

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