Let’s face it—2024 was a big year for The Petrus Development Show! Whether you’re a seasoned fundraiser or just here for the inspiration, these episodes struck a chord with listeners everywhere. So, grab your favorite coffee (or eggnog if that’s your thing), and let’s count down the top five episode...

By Rhen Hoehn, Director of Marketing

You would not build a house without first creating blueprints, gathering building materials, and pouring a foundation.

It wouldn’t make any sense to start the build by constructing a gourmet kitchen without plumbing, electricity, or even a roof and say ...

By Rhen Hoehn, Director of Marketing

Inflow must be greater than outflow.

When it comes to setting a budget, this fact is obvious.

When preparing the budget for a nonprofit organization, though, many fundraisers find that the process seems to happen backwards.

Your experience may reso...

By Rhen Hoehn, Director of Marketing

Every so often, it becomes necessary for a nonprofit to abandon their existing donor database system and move to a new one. 

The existing system may be too complicated for staff to use, or perhaps it's not sophisticated enough to keep up with the growing o...

By Chris Scroggin, Petrus Consultant

Have you ever wondered what art and science have in common? 

Art draws on emotions.

Science uses rational thought.

But, science and art both demand creativity and excellent observational skills. 

Most techniques used by artists even have interesting scient...

One of the non-profits I worked for didn’t have a database; they had an Excel spreadsheet for their donor information. It wasn’t very organized, and I had no idea how accurate it was. 

There was information everywhere - on spreadsheets, in the executive director’s notebooks, and in the heads ...

By Rhen Hoehn, Petrus Director of Marketing

A capital campaign is a targeted fundraising project meant to raise significant dollars in a relatively short period of time. 

Campaigns can be used to fund needed projects such as building repairs, or they can fund the expansion of a campus to m...

By Mary Hernandez, Petrus Blog Contributor

The newest release of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) annual Compensation and Benefits Study is timed perfectly for organizations creating a strategic plan to start or grow their development team in the new year. We've limited the sc...

By Mary P. Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor & Local Charity Board Member

Let’s Get Excited about RMDs!

This may be the most boring blog post you’ll read this week, but slogging through it could bring a lot of money to your ministry!

2021 is shaping up to be a CRAZY tax year. Many of our benefa...

By Mary P. Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor & Local Charity Board Member

Latest Information on Giving Trends

Giving USA 2021: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020 was released in June.  This report on the state of philanthropy is LONG and comprehensive, so I picked a few findings...

By Sarah Rose, Petrus Director of Communications

Recently, I was invited to watch one of OSV talks titled “AI and the Future of Generosity” by Nathan Chappell, Senior Vice President of DonorSearch Aristotle.

The OSV Talks are a “series of topics from Catholic leaders to spark discussion, explo...