Donor Prospects as Investment Clients

Today, Phil Cubeta's blog "Cultivating Client Values through Active Listening" provides a clear directive for how financial consultants can advise their clients on considering philanthropy within their estate planning.

His comments also provide a clear roadmap for any development officer intersted in major gift solicitation.

The more I read blogs like GiftHub, and the more interactions I have with Central Dallas Ministries' most significant donors, the more that I realize that my job is less marketing than counseling. Donors do not need to be "pitched" or "appealed to." They need to be heard.

What are the ways that a development program can integrate "listening" at every level?