Calendar

January 16, 2025

Brews with the Board

Start the new year by joining the CGPI board for an informal gathering to talk shop (or not) and meet other CGPI members. CGPI will order appetizers to share and attendees will purchase their own drinks. There is no registration fee, but please register in advance so we know who to expect.

February 6, 2025

Fundraising Metrics are the Worst! (And How to Fix Them)

Presented by Russell James, J.D., Ph.D., CFP®

Fundraising Metrics are the Worst! (And How to Fix Them) Managers often look to metrics for solutions to fundraising growth. But research shows metrics are just as likely to hurt fundraising results as they are to help. So what’s the problem? And what’s the solution? Tackling this problem starts by understanding the real-world decision[1]making processes for major gifts – especially the largest ones. This journey to the major gift from assets is very different from small gifts. Metrics that work in one place can be disastrous in another. In this session we’ll take a deep dive into what actually works, and what doesn’t, in the world of metrics.

Russell James, J.D., Ph.D., CFP® is a chaired professor in the Department of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University where he directs the on-campus and online graduate program in Charitable Financial Planning (planned giving). He graduated, cum laude, from the University of Missouri School of Law where he was a member of the Missouri Law Review and received the United Missouri Bank Award for Most Outstanding Work in Gift and Estate Taxation and Planning. He also holds a Ph.D. in consumer economics from the University of Missouri, where his dissertation was on charitable giving. Prior to his career as an academic researcher, Dr. James worked as the Director of Planned Giving for Central Christian College in Moberly, Missouri for 6 years and later served as president of the college for more than 5 years. During his presidency the college successfully completed two major capital campaigns, built several new debt-free buildings, and more than tripled enrollment. Dr. James has published research in more than 75 peer-reviewed scientific journal and law review articles. He has been quoted on charitable and financial issues in a variety of news sources including The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, ABC News, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and the Chronicle of Philanthropy and his financial neuroimaging research was profiled in The Wall Street Journal’s Smart Money Magazine. He is author of several books including The Storytelling Fundraiser, The Epic Fundraiser, The Primal Fundraiser, The Socratic Fundraiser, Inside the Mind of the Bequest Donor, and Visual Planned Giving.