December is crunch time for nonprofits.  With a third of annual giving happening in the final weeks of the year, your development office can't afford to relax (yet!) for the holidays. Join Andrew and Rhen as they share three strategic moves to maximize your year-end fundraising.  While the strategie...

Andrew and Rhen close out their capital campaign series by tackling a question many nonprofits don't think about until it's too late: What happens after you hit your goal?  

Please take note - the work isn't over!  Yes, take time to celebrate (pop that champagne!), but the real opportunity...

Join Andrew as he reflects on how Catholic Social Teaching (CST), rooted in Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, fundamentally transforms his approach to fundraising.  Andrew shares a bit of the history of CST from Rerum Novarum to the present, and he explores how the CST values of human d...

If you have been in fundraising for any length of time, you’ve probably received some advice that made you stop and think, “There is no way that actually works.” 

Sometimes this advice comes from well-meaning friends, board members, or even other nonprofit leaders. The problem is that bad Cathol...

By Andrew Robison, Petrus President

As a Catholic fundraising professional with two decades of experience working alongside Church and nonprofit leaders, I've witnessed firsthand how Catholic Social Teaching (CST) shapes successful fundraising practices. The intersection of these principles wi...

Ever faced a frustrated donor? If you've been fundraising for any length of time, chances are you've been on the receiving end of donor displeasure. In this episode, Andrew and Rhen share strategies for responding to angry donors while maintaining your composure and ensuring they feel heard.

Father Michael had seen it all before. A generous donor seemed enthusiastic, nodding along, asking great questions, and even mentioning how much they admired the campus ministry's mission. 

Then came the ask. 

The donor smiled, said they’d think about it, and promised to follow up soon. Week...

It's a recurring question in the life of a fundraiser:  "How much money should I request from a donor when I meet with them?"  If that's a question that continues to baffle you, we have good news!  Andrew and Rhen return with an episode on tools you can use to determine the appropriate dollar amount...

The choice of who to hire as a fundraiser can be one of the most important decisions that an organization makes.  Choosing the right development staff makes a world of difference in whether or not a ministry is able to build a successful and sustainable development program.  

Show Notes:

The start of the year is full of fresh goals, long to-do lists, and that faint hope that this will be the year you finally organize your inbox. (Spoiler alert: it won’t be.) 

But there’s one task you should definitely add to your calendar that’s both rewarding and surprisingly easy:  stewardship me...

We're glad you're back for our second Petrus Development Show episode highlighting etiquette tips for fundraisers.  As with our previous episode on good dining behavior, Andrew and Rhen offer specific rules for formal table manners.  Again, we know this is a unique topic for one of our shows, but as...

We're shaking things up this week and going in a unexpected direction - we're talking about table manners and more!  In this episode,  Andrew and Rhen, as the leaders of our Petrus finishing school, discuss all things etiquette.  While, at first glance, this topic might seem superficial and tedious,...