How to Fight Nonprofit ‘Resting on Laurels’ Syndrome
Are you planning to do, more or less, the same thing you did last year for your annual fundraising push?
I mean things like:
- Recycling the exact same appeal letter
- Mailing to the same list
- Failing to segment your list
- Failing to clean up addresses and de-dupe your list
- Using the same donation landing page
- Mailing only one appeal letter
- Sending only one or two emails
- Failing to link to your appeal on social media
- Failing to ask your influencers to share with their peers
- Failing to encourage recurring gifts
- Failing to suggest specific ask amounts
- Failing to ask major donor prospects in person
- Failing to send a prompt, personal thank you
- Failing to have a donor love & loyalty plan in place to retain these supporters
- … the list goes on!
I was moved to write this article after recently attending an excellent production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George” at the S.F. Playhouse. I found it surprisingly moving, especially the final musical number: “Move on.” And, being me, I was able to relate it to something I find all too common in nonprofit work.
Something insidious that kills innovation and inexorably drains spirits.
It’s almost a disease.
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