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i team new england consulting's recommendations for your: Top Ten Commitments for 2008.

Dust off your organization's VALUES! Philanthropy is about values. Your organization has certain values. Your prospects have personal values that play important roles in their lives. You are a volunteer because of what you value. It therefore stands to reason that your main role in cultivating prospects is to maintain a clear understanding of those similar values that are hallmarks of the organization, and those that you hold dear, and those that are important to your prospect.
e-Bunk the Old Myths! This year, don't approach your fund raising process with the Robin Hood mentality-that of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. This is not a taking game, but rather a giving game. This taking perception, perhaps, is the most frustrating perception of the major gift process. Focus on what you can give to the prospect. In 2008, give them opportunities to join you in making strides.
Create Mission Partners. Commit to building each new relationship in 2008 in the image of a mission partner. Welcome your new donors and volunteers as mission partners, being specific to their role in helping your organization impact others in the community. Bring them close. Share your challenges, your struggles, and your victories. Mission partnerships started from the beginning will engender lasting commitment from your partners.
Brush up on your relationships! Some would suggest that major gift fund raising is a contact sport. The truth lies in how you define contact. In terms of face-to-face contact, the suggestion is correct. Any values-based investment must be approached in a personalized and individualized fashion, with an emphasis on relationships. If you define contact as merely a casual connection to a person, organization, corporation, or foundation, then the suggestion is false. Successful solicitations are not made on contacts but based on solid relationships. If we had to raise dollars based merely on a contact, then we'd not be very successful.
Fall in love again! You can't hurry love! Fund raising is like farming, you must cultivate the ground, nourish the soil, plant the seed, and cultivate some more. In effect, you fall in love with farming! Before you can pick the fruits of your labor, you must water, trim, and feed. One word of caution: don't get so caught up in the act of cultivation that you forget to harvest!
Capitalize your relationships. Raising the campaign dollars will be the easy part of this campaign. In order to fully capitalize your organization's relationships with its donors, you must remember that "thanks" is not enough. Look at the long-term relationship with your donors. If you wish to raise more money, then be prepared to prove to your donors (your investors) that you accomplished what you said you would accomplish with their investment. You build relationships by delivering evidence of the positive difference the gift made. Let the donor become an insider!
Get personal again! Write your own personal thank you notes. Express your personal gratitude. Of course, the organization should send an official receipt and written acknowledgment, but you should be the one who expresses the excitement. You should also play a key role in presenting the evidence of your success. Be the conduit to the donor on behalf of the organization. Get personal again!
Get passionate. Dispel the myth that only the rich should solicit the rich. The good 'ole boy network is vastly overrated. Your millionaire prospects will give you a major gift because you can help her make her dreams come true, not just because another millionaire asked her for a gift. Peer relationships are important and may serve to open some doors. Millionaire prospects are more likely to be charmed by your passion, your knowledge of the project, and your contagious enthusiasm than they would be by a jocular golf buddy.
Revisit your annual giving case for support. Don't think that another year brings the same old commitment from your annual donors. Many of them move on, find other interests, or simply stop giving because we fail to maintain our messages of urgency and commitment. Re-write your annual giving case for support at the beginning of each year and seek re-newed commitment from all of your stakeholders.
Concentrate on IMPACT. Philanthropic investors want to see impact. Break it down. In 2008, show them how their specific donation impacted your vision. Be visual. Use numbers. Be impact-focused!