As I write this, I've just crossed my one-millionth mile flown. 😱✈️🌎

I’m on a flight back to Seattle from D.C. after spending a few days at the NonProfit POWER Summit in Baltimore, where I previewed my upcoming book about how nonprofit leaders can tap into the subscription economy to grow recurring giving. 

I believe that gratitude and generosity form a virtuous cycle. Each leads to the other, and they reinforce one another.

When I practice generosity, that leads to gratitude.

A record number of people plan to shop over the holiday stretch known as Cyber Five, from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday this year.

The National Retail Federation reports that a record 183.4 million people plan to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.

Today, November 15, is National Philanthropy Day. 

Officially recognized as a national day by President Reagan in 1986, National Philanthropy Day is an annual day of celebration that recognizes the contributions of philanthropy to the world. 

Simply defined, philanthropy is the use of private resources for public purposes. The giving of resources like time, talent, and treasure has deep roots in human history.

While recurring giving has been a bright spot amidst the gloomy clouds of fundraising trends for years now, there are many charities that have not yet tapped into recurring giving in a meaningful way. 

Reliable, recurring revenue is a crucial resource many nonprofits aspire to achieve but often can’t fully realize. 

I might be describing your organization. You might sense there is much more potential to develop a strong, resilient, growing stream of recurring income. 

What do the Atlanta Braves, Chick-fil-A, and North Point Church have in common? 

They are all in Atlanta. 

But also Jeff Henderson.

Today, we’re going to look at four key lessons leaders can take from the phenomenon that is Halloween. But first, do you know the most popular Halloween costume for kids?

Artificial intelligence has been a fantastic personal and professional help in my life. 

I use AI tools weekly in at least a dozen ways, big and small. They help me communicate more clearly, work more efficiently, make better decisions, and do things that would take staff time or skills I wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

“Dave, the way you’re wired, you are going to be good at stuff for about two years, or 90%, whichever comes first.”

I was stunned. Was that supposed to be a compliment??

I was 25 years old at the time, and I was having lunch with a consultant our agency had hired when he sprung this “wisdom” on me. 

At the time, I couldn’t hear anything but a backhanded compliment. 

Recurring donor retention rates are different. If you know me, you know I’m fired up about the opportunity for nonprofit leaders and fundraisers to take advantage of the changing landscape of recurring giving driven by the Subscription Economy. 

Neon One found that from 2018-2022, nonprofits had an average recurring donor retention rate of 78% – a dream for most nonprofits. I have one client with an incredible recurring retention rate of 86%. That’s nearly 9 of every 10 recurring donors that stick around year after year – and we’re not done improving it yet. 

Retention just sounds nice. But that’s the problem. It’s too nice.