Are you in good fundraising-shape?
Yes, I know. Dieting is “out”. It’s short-term thinking, and that’s why most diets fail. The motivation behind a diet is important. It’s generally someone who wants be healthier and a diet, in their mind, is the action plan to achieve better health outcomes.
I think some “dieting” tactics are applicable in order to achieve better fundraising outcomes. You may consider trying some of these common dieting strategies.
- Goal Setting – Simple, but important. Define what success looks like. Make it clear. Remind yourself of the goals regularly. Keep it in front of you.
- Journaling – Why is this activity so effective? Because what gets measured gets done. It makes it easy to identify what you’re doing that’s moving you closer or further away from your goals. List your strategies and track your activities for a period of time. Then evaluate how much of your time and which activities are moving you closer and further away from your goals. Then try to replace the adverse activities (fast food) with more productive ones.
- Exercise – Why do you exercise? You don’t see the benefits right away. It’s really hard. And, what you eat has a far greater impact on your weight than exercising. It’s because we KNOW exercising regularly over a period of time will make a big difference. There are effective fundraising activities that do not result in gifts immediately, but do result in raising more money over time. Building donor relationship and most operational development activities are a couple of examples that fit this description.
- Research – Like dieting, there is a ton of fundraising information, data, and opinions at your fingertips. It’s difficult to discern what’s still relevant today, what works in the real world, and what might work best for you and your situation. Reach out to trusted sources who have good experience and can help you decide what’s right for you. See if there’s a local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in your area and connect with other fundraisers.
If you make a habit of setting goals, analyzing your activities, developing patience and discipline, and continuously learning, you and your organization will experience growth and increase fundraising effectiveness.
Want to uncover specific ways you and your organization can raise money more effectively? Check out the Five Tool Fundraising Development Audit. Call or email us to talk about how this could take your development to the next level.
As always, THANK YOU for reading. Have a great day!
All the best,
Kenny Sigler, CFRE