Fall fundraising season may feel far away, but the organizations that thrive at year-end are usually planning long before September arrives. That’s because strong fundraising results rarely happen by accident. They come from: Clarity about priorities, Discipd use of time, and Realistic understanding of resources needed to grow contributed income. Too many nonprofit professionals operate…
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When every day feels like the world is on fire, how much can one actually plan? Very valid question! Whether or not one wants to accept what is going on, feeling that the foundation is shifting beneath us is a constant. This means acknowledging the heartbreak and rage one may feel about destructive budget cuts…
DetailsI cannot tell you how many times I begin a consultation with a small nonprofit, only to discover they have no real donor database (to collect and store data) or CRM (to effectively manage donor relationships).
They’re still using Excel or Filemaker or something that was developed for the program or finance department many moons ago.
I also find many nonprofits do have a decent fundraising database, but aren’t really using it to their advantage.
It’s the equivalent of having a 747; then using it to drive down the block to the corner store.
If you’re not exactly maximizing the resources you have, or if you simply don’t have the resources you need, it’s going to adversely affect your fundraising results.
Today we live not only in an era of ‘Big Data,’ but in one in which much of this data is AI-enabled. Which means understanding why data is important, what data is most meaningful to you, and how to prioritize data collection and evaluation strategies to help you reach your goals has never been more important.
If your nonprofit fundraising and marketing strategy is not currently undergirded by data — whether AI-empowered or not yet — I guarantee you’re missing opportunities, working inefficiently and leaving money on the table.
Could you use a bit of guidance?
Read on…
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What’s love got to do with it?
Show me the money.
Some year’s ago the Chronicle of Philanthropy published an article about the need to Shake Up Development Offices and Curb Turnover. The article cites Penelope Burk’s five years of research which culminated in her groundbreaking book, Donor-Centered Leadership, as well as a revelatory study, Underdeveloped, by CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund that found half of chief development officers planned to leave their jobs in two years or less. And 40% planned to leave fundraising entirely.
What’s going on, and how can you fix it?
Is it about money, or something else?
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How do you get everyone on your team working collaboratively? If you could you stand to improve the way your nonprofit staff work together as a team, I’ve got some terrific strategies for you. I first learned about them from How to Collaborate with and Influence People Using the SCARF Model, by Martin Luenendonk, CEO…
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Are you planning to do, more or less, the same thing you did last year for your year-end annual fundraising push?
I mean things like:
I was moved to write this article after attending an excellent local production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George.” 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.
It’s something insidious. Something that kills innovation and inexorably drains spirits.
It’s almost a disease.
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Too often, fundraising is relegated to an administrative function rather than a mission-central function.
It’s viewed as a ‘necessary evil.’ As a result, either no one embraces it as central to their job description, or someone is hired and shunted off to a corner to do the ‘dirty work.’
Others don’t necessarily feel a need to cooperate or support the fundraising effort.
It’s ancillary, not primary. A cost center, not a revenue center. In fact, I’ll often hear executive directors or board members tell me, with some pride and a soupçon of defensiveness: “We can’t spend money on development staff right now; anything extra we have must go into the mission!”
As if fundraising doesn’t support the mission?
Seriously, that’s the entire purpose of what nonprofits call ‘development’ (aka fundraising and marketing). It derives its purpose from ends served. It’s never an end in itself. What this so-called ‘mission first’ logic fails to acknowledge is everyone associated with your nonprofit is guided by a ‘mission first’ philosophy and has a collective stake in your nonprofit’s survival. And for most nonprofits, survival – or at least some level of mutually desired success – depends on philanthropy.
It takes a dedicated village to generate sustainable, meaningful philanthropy.
When fundraising is treated as an afterthought, relegated to the development committee, or delegated to a single staff member, it disenfranchises a huge segment of folks who care about sustaining the cause. This means you’ll leave money on the table and fail to realize your mission potential.
I’ve found four ways nonprofits don’t wholeheartedly commit to fundraising. They all have to do with typical priorities that aren’t standing them in good stead.
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These are the best of times. These are the worst of times.
However you see the present, rest assured others see it the opposite.
How do you cope? How do you help others cope? How are you adapting, personally and professionally, to the times in which we live?
It turns out the way you cope, particularly during times of stress, has a lot to do with your unique personality traits.
During such times, it pays to be self-aware. It can help you understand why you may be feeling particularly panicky. Or inexplicably calm and at peace. ANd it can help you lean in to what makes you feel creative, purposeful, and even joyful.
Through self discovery, you can live your life in the best way possible.
Want to make a contribution that feels authentic, productive and true to you? Want to make this a year where you help others do the same, be they your family, friends, co-workers, program participants and beneficiaries, volunteers or donors?
Then how about taking a bit of focused time to unearth some important truths about the most interesting person on earth — YOU!
Turn off the news, stop scrolling through social media, and instead get in touch with, and appreciate, what you bring to the table.
I’ve got four fun things for you to try!
One is a values exercise. The others can be grouped under the mantle of “personality tests.”
First, let’s stipulate values vary and they’re all legitimate. Also, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ personality. These exercises and assessments I’m sharing today are my favorites for the workplace (and beyond) as they’ve been rigorously tested, are grounded in research and have been shown to be fair and consistent across populations. Plus, they’re fun to take.
Are you game?
Even if you don’t love doing exercises and taking quizzes as much as I do, you may find one or more of these interesting. None of them take a lot of your time. And it’s even more fun if you do it together (with friends, family, co-workers); then compare and discuss results!
Remember: Everyone brings their own gifts to the situation at hand.
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Confession: This is something I struggled with in my 30 years as a manager.
I wanted to reward folks, but I tended to focus on things like money rather than gratitude, praise and recognition. And positive reinforcement didn’t come to me as naturally as pointing out weaknesses. I had both a boss (and a mother) who role modelled this for me.
This same critical boss also told me, whenever I wanted to give someone a raise, money didn’t motivate people. All sorts of other things mattered more, including work environment.
At the time, I didn’t really believe this. I was constantly advocating for well-deserved raises because I thought it was the best gift I had to offer. And, by golly, it seemed like the right and fair thing to do! She told me resources were limited, and the satisfaction from a raise is fleeting, compared with things like greater authority, autonomy, praise and recognition.
You know what? She was right. Not about leaning into criticism, but about what is most meaningful to employees in a workplace.
I found, as much as the people who worked for me enjoyed a good raise, they complained a lot more about lack of advancement opportunity, responsibility without authority, a top-down infrastructure, lack of job fit, unrealistically high expectations, shortage of support and an overall stressful work environment.
If money is really bad, of course, it will get in the way. However, it’s worth noting money is only fourth among the top five reasons people cite for leaving a job. In fact, the preponderance of research into the value of money as a motivator notes it is a motivator only up to a certain point; once folks reach that level, more money has a negligible impact on their satisfaction.
[Background: I was fortunate during my career not to work at places where folks were expected to buy into the “starvation cycle” mentality and live below minimum wage. Where I worked, people generally were fairly and well-compensated. Sure, they’d likely tell you they wanted more money. But this was not the reason they left.]
“In a nutshell: money does not buy engagement.”
— Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author, Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (and How to Fix It)
Employee engagement is a product of overall work environment (culture) and specific management support (feedback, praise and recognition).
A huge part of what employees will describe as “work environment” has to do with meaningful engagement, or lack thereof. And there are two ways to promote this engagement:
I talk a lot about the former. Today I’d like to hone in on the latter.
(1) Because… for engagement to stick, the two types must go hand-in-hand.
DetailsIn fact, research reveals
I’ve been asked this question many times.
And not just by donors, but also by board members.
One of the ways I’ve answered is with my own questions:
Maybe the return on your invesment doesn’t matter to you. But maybe it does. In the case of the wrinkly vs. mint dollar bill, it would matter a lot only if you’re a collector. Change that to 50 cents to buy a bag of fresh, nutritious produce that will last a full week vs. 20 cents to buy a bag of old, rotten vegetables, and you begin to understand.
All things are not created equal.
That’s true, BIG TIME, for what folks consider ‘appropriate’ overhead.
There’s a time and a place for the red pencil, but most of the time another color will do a more effective job of generating the revenues you need to survive and thrive.
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