We live in an age of information overload.
As a result, many of us (me included) have gotten into some really bad habits in an effort just to “keep up.”
These habits are not only killing your productivity, they’re killing you!
So today I thought I’d take a step back from offering fundraising tips and tools, and offer up some brass tacks advice to lighten your load.
And I want to take on the killer of all time sucks.
Email.
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What’s in a name?
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” said Shakespeare.
But, would it?
Seth Godin thinks words matter. As do I.
Just?
The meaning of the word is the reason we used the word.
If we don’t agree about the meaning of the word, we haven’t communicated.
Instead of, “that’s just semantics,” it seems more productive to say, “I’m confident we have a semantics problem.”
Because that’s all of it.
The way we process words changes the way we act. The story we tell ourselves has an emotional foundation, but those emotions are triggered by the words we use.
Not just.
Especially.
— Seth Godin
Maybe that’s okay. Or perhaps
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Everything I learned about saying “thank you” I learned from:
According to Burk’s research from Donor-Centered Fundraising, more than 80% of thank you letters start with “Thank you for your generous gift of…” or “On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you for your generous gift of…”
I’ve created for you a little “Declaration of Fundraising Independence” to help you become a fruitful philanthropy facilitator from this day forward.
This Declaration incorporates what I consider to be essential fundraising truths — four pre-conditions which must be met before you’ll be able to successfully exercise your fundraising strategies. Within these four pre-conditions are additional hidden truths (don’t worry; I’ll call them out for you).
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that not all charities are created equal, that they are endowed by their constituencies with certain unalienable visions, missions and values, that among these are visions, missions and values that some, but not all, members of the public share. That to secure these visions, missions and values, charities are instituted among the public, deriving their just powers from the support of the public. That whenever any form of charity becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to fail to support it, and to instead support those institutions as to them shall seem most likely to effect the safety, happiness, goodwill and public benefit of the populace.
Fundraising is not an end in itself. It serves noble ends.
(1) When those ends are ones valued by the people, and
(2) When folks trust you’re doing an effective job meeting needs they believe must be met, then
(3) You earn the privilege of fundraising and, in fact,
(4) You assume the responsibility to fundraise to assure those who rely on you to meet these needs are not left high and dry.
So… this is where you get your Declaration of Fundraising Independence. You are ‘free to fundraise’ once you’re able to make a case to enough people that you deserve to exist. For this to be the case:
DetailsA very accomplished friend of mine wrote a provocative, and beautiful, article over three years ago.
It’s called On Political Fear, and was written by Tara Mohr, author of Playing Big (named a ‘best book of the year’ by Apple iBooks) and an expert on women’s leadership and well-being. Tara writes a lot about creating a more sane and compassionate world — through leadership, courage and creativity.
That’s the raison d’etre of the social benefit sector, which is why the article resonated with me on many levels, not the least of which spoke to me wearing my hat as a philanthropy facilitator and nonprofit coach.
I shared her article then. I want to share it again.
Tara, in speaking up, described herself as “proudly afraid.”
I’m continuing with my new, occasional feature of “Do’s vs. Don’ts.”
Whenever something arrives in my mailbox that seems a good ‘teaching opportunity,’ my plan is to share it with you.
Please let me know if you find it useful!
Today’s example is an emailed invitation to a donor appreciation luncheon.
Do you think it’s a “Do” or a “Don’t?”
I received an email with the headline: Want to enjoy lunch with our kids next Thursday?
The preview pane continued:
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When people give to you for the first time, often they know very little about you. Perhaps they found you through a link on social media. Or organic search. Or through a friend who emailed them a link to your appeal.
They were inspired to give, once, based on whatever they saw or read.
What happens next is critical.
Either you’ll inspire donors to stick with you, or you’ll depress their enthusiasm through benign neglect.
I say “benign,” because I’m sure you don’t mean to mistreat your supporters. Nonetheless, I’m willing to bet many of you do.
Here’s the deal: Donors are looking for meaning. If your thank you and subsequent donor communications don’t give it to them, they’ll dismiss you and go look for meaning elsewhere.
All donors have questions they need you to answer for them. If you fail to answer these questions you fail to lay the groundwork for developing a positive, ongoing relationship.
DetailsI wrote “And then they came for me…” over a year ago. I was criticized for writing a ‘political’ piece. As a social benefit sector coach, teacher and practitioner, I’m apparently supposed to ‘stick to my lane.’ But… what exactly is my lane? Or yours? My blog is for those who work in the social…
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Wondering where fundraising is heading in our highly networked, overly saturated, noisy-as-all-get-out post-digital revolution world?
It’s a bit of a jungle out there, with so much competition for attention — for-profits, other nonprofits, political campaigns, friends, family.
It’s a wonderful time to seize the opportunity to put in place a system that values multiple voices.
Truly, if you’re able to really show people how much you value them, you’re going to rise to the top of the heap.
Of course, sometimes it’s easier said than done.
Today we’ll explore 4 keys to raising money in our socially-revolutionized zeitgeist.
Do you ever worry you’re not doing enough to attract the donors of the future?
Does thinking about how to market to Millennials (who already are the largest segment in the workplace, will be 50% of the U.S. workforce in the next two years, and who will be 75% by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) fill you with anxiety, because it’s just one more thing to add to your overflowing list?
Fear no more!
Today I’m going to tell you how you can have it all – and with very little extra work.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not dissing a multi-generational strategy. If you can manage to treat different types of donors differently, you absolutely will get the biggest bang for your buck by so doing. However…
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