Taking Donors Seriously® was developed more than 30 years ago for people like you! Our online fundraising training and coaching program is geared specifically to the needs of field staff who raise their own financial support.
More InfoWe’ve tailored the Taking Donors Seriously® for development professionals working on teams in larger organizations. Our online fundraising training course has been approved for Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credits.
More InfoThis version of TDS Online is for smaller organizations that do not necessarily have a dedicated or experienced formal development team.
More InfoThis version of TDS Online is for independent schools that do not have a dedicated or experienced formal development team.
More InfoFor larger organizations, we have the ability to tailor the content, timeline and delivery to meet your unique needs. Let’s talk!
More InfoTaking Donors Seriously® (TDS) is based on our belief that fundraising at its best is relational, and donors are engaged over time - hopefully for a lifetime - and appealed to on the basis of a shared mission, not simply the need for funds. This is the key to successful, sustainable fundraising.
For more than 30 years, TDS has equipped fundraisers with support-raising solutions based on a set of time-tested principles - rather than tactics - and has provided practical methods to apply these principles. Because fundraising is relational, our principles provide a framework for engaging donors throughout their lifetimes, whereas tactics tend to make fundraising transactional.
Our approach has been successfully adopted by hundreds of people for more than 30 years. These are not gimmicks or tricks, but rather enduring principles for relational fundraising.
Our program can be started any month, anywhere you are, as long as you have access to a phone and the Internet. No need to travel or take time off to go to training.
This is not “drinking from a fire hose” over a day or weekend. TDS Online is a multi-week program in which you receive training in small doses, and then complete assignments applicable to your own situation.
You will have an expert walking alongside you as you implement what you’re learning. Coaching calls placed at key points in the program provide for the discussion of questions, ideas, challenges and feedback.
You will not only gain the tools to improve your fundraising results right away, but your training will also continue to pay dividends for the rest of your career.
The FOCUS Group has a 33-year track record of helping individuals and organizations successfully reach their fundraising goals. Our coaches are experienced consultants who have provided development counsel and wisdom to dozens of organizations and individuals. Most of them have first-hand experience raising support for themselves or larger organizations.
For more information on The FOCUS Group, please visit www.tfgrp.com
Here’s a partial list of the organizations with which we’ve worked: