Advice for Fundraising? Practice, practice, practice!

We had a full workshop for Andy Robinson’s return visit to Traverse City and my impression was that most attendees left the session energized and excited about fundraising. Amazing… even in this tough economic climate! Andy was able to give us practical advice and instructions for focusing our fundraising efforts on the right prospects using the right approaches.

Some highlights….

• Throughout 50 years of tracking donations- through economic downturns, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks; annual donations have continued to rise each year with few exceptions. The few years that saw declines were only by 1-3%!
  
  
• 76% of the revenue raised through fundraising comes from individual donors. Most of these donors earn $75,000 or less annually and donate to 5 to 10 organizations.
  
  
• Only 12% of revenue from fundraising comes from grants and even less from corporations.

It’s pretty clear where we need to focus our efforts this year. With foundation income down and fewer dollars available from government sources and the corporate world, fundraisers need to become very savvy about how to connect with their current donors and upgrade them and how to identify and cultivate new donors. Individual meetings, small house parties, and customized presentations are more important than ever.

How do we get good at this? It certainly isn’t a comfort area for most people including our board members who are an essential ingredient in this equation.

Practice, practice, practice! There is not a skill that we can build and truly master without experience. Practice with long time donors. Practice with colleagues. Practice with each other. It’s unrealistic to expect to be an expert at conducting “the ask” without experience. Keep at it.

Whether you have a quiet, reserved style or a gregarious, outgoing personality; you can use your personal strengths to become a skilled and successful fundraiser. Learn to apply your personal communication approach to your best advantage!

A Struggling Economy Sets the Stage for Nonprofit Innovation

O.K., I’ll admit it. I’m one of those die hard optimists that advocates for making lemonade out of those lemons we’re being so generously served these days. One of the positive outcomes of our struggling economy is that we are seeing an increasing receptiveness by nonprofit leaders to reinventing their current business model and changing their mode of operation.

This week, we received the latest newsletter from Fieldstone Alliance, “6 Pivotal Points When Nonprofits Must Make Fundamental Changes.” This is valuable reading that outlines important signals that a nonprofit is in need of fundamental change. The managing editor, Rebecca Post, points out that “to remain strong and effective, nonprofits cannot remain static.” Isn’t that the truth? But isn’t it so hard to promote change and move our team including board members, staff, volunteers, and clients to a new paradigm? This newsletter article and the referenced book by Susan Gross provide concrete questions and discussion points to guide your critical thinking.
Click here to read this recommended reading by Pam Evans, NorthSky Program Manager.

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