Dr. Russell James reveals the secret behind major gift growth – psychology!

by | Mar 1, 2022 | News

Jennifer Filla

Dr. Russell James has been studying charitable financial planning for more than 15 years, and that followed 11 years living in the fundraising space as Director of Planned Giving and later President of Central Christian College of the Bible.

His love for charitable financial planning research is evident in his prolific research, presentations, and papers on the subject. And of this love is born some very compelling information that front-line fundraisers and fundraising researchers can immediately put to good use.

Dr. James is on a quest to understand the psychology behind the major gift headlines. This has led him to discover that there is a 78% spike in giving in the year following an estate gift, and for years after.

“Once wealth becomes donation relevant, it can become transformational for the donors,” he tells us.

But he isn’t one of those professors who limits himself to the theoretical realm. He provides practical information you can instantly apply to fundraising.

And as if in anticipation of the listener who questions whether their leadership can be persuaded to make changes, he shares that nonprofits who accept asset gifts have double the growth rate of nonprofits who are not accepting asset gifts. Then he encourages you to pull the IRS Form 990 for your “competitor” nonprofit and check out Schedule M to determine if their stellar fundraising results could be the difference in asset giving.

Every time I hear Dr. James speak I learn something new I can put to use. Don’t miss this #ChatBytes episode – it’s transformational!

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