How I learned an important lesson in fundraising: people, specifically donors, lie all the time.
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There is so much out fundraising education and frankly, pressure, out there about “scaling” and in some ways, I think nonprofit can and should use the power of things like automations to streamline their work.
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One of the mistakes I see nonprofits make is that when it comes time to ask for money, they try to ask, inspire, AND educate - all at the same time. It’s too much! Unfortunately, when that happens - it feels like a water hose of information - so much to take in and none of it gets caught. Here are five ways you can educate your donors in the lead up to making an ask for your nonprofit.
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The Inside Out Method is a process for looking within your current community or set of supporters to go find new community members or donors. You start from the inside, the core, first - and work your way out. For most organizations, that is likely the board of directors followed by volunteers, major gift donors and/or advisors.
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Have you ever heard the saying, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today,”? That saying is relationship building in a nutshell. A hard truth in fundraising is that very rarely does it go fast. In fact, I can count on one hand the amount of times a donation fell from the sky. The other 99.9%? They came out of meaningful relationships. But how do you start those relationships? Especially when you don’t have an introduction…
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I’m not sure at what point grown ups lose their sense of fun, but I promise you that when you and your nonprofit find ways to surprise and delight your donors - they will love it.
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Getting your donors “on base” allows them to have an experience - something very different than them reading up about you in an email or an annual report. It results in them asking, "How can I help?"
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