Fundraising in Five Minutes
Over the last several months, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been asked to participate in a number of panel discussions at the University of Denver. Each time the topic has been on some aspect of nonprofit fundraising. I just wanted to pass along two points I found interesting in those discussions.
1. All of the panelists (including me) agreed that cultivating new donors is a process. Those relationships are about getting to know the donor as an individual and finding if/how the donor is connected to your organization’s mission. The point is to find out if there is something about your organization that makes the donor feel good.
It is quite possible that a year or more will go by before you ask a new donor for financial support. And it may be that you won’t even have to ask the donor for money – if you’ve taken the time to build a genuine relationship, s/he may offer to fund a special project before you even ask. Raising money without ever overtly asking for it is what I’ve found to be the most fun and interesting part about fundraising. It is certainly among the most artful ways to build support.
2. Keep your donor database updated. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a good piece of software and implementing processes with your staff to ensure the database stays updated. Record all of your interactions with donors with the greatest possible detail.
I knew a development officer at one organization who took a donor out to a nice restaurant. Turned out that the donor didn’t like nice restaurants at all. He was a pizza and beer kind of guy (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, too). If the development officer had read the database notes left by the previous development manager about that donor, she would have avoided making an embarrassing mistake. Don’t assume anything about your donors.
