I talk to A LOT of people in the social or nonprofit sector every week.
Board members, Executive Directors, Development Directors, data entry staff. . . you name the position and I have probably spoken with them this week.
Most bring me their concerns about reaching their fundraising goals. Some whine a bit about the actions others are or are not taking.
What I hear disturbs me.
I hear people expecting their community to give and give again or give more, without doing the work.
What I know for sure is this: The work doesn’t have to be hard work. It has to be focused work.
What if I told the answer to “why is raising money so difficult?” isn’t a big secret. The answer is: YOU.
Your actions and your communication are not focused in the right way. The people achieving success focus their time and their words. Those achieving success take focused action every day and they are making a huge difference to their bottom line.
When you focus on these four things I am CERTAIN you will see a significant difference in fundraising:
1. Really know your key supporters.
2. Share clear messages.
3. Hold yourself & others accountable for what you said you’d do.
4. Continually invite participation.
Sound too simple? Not from my 30 years of experience supporting nonprofits and raising funds.
On April 20 I shared three success stories of nonprofit organizations that found raising money isn’t so difficult. Collectively the three nonprofits raised more than $2.5 million last year.
I also shared an example of one organization that is still struggling despite my best attempts to guide them to success.
The feedback I received after the live webinar was incredible and inspired me. People took action right away and are seeing immediate fundraising success.
So, I’ve left the replay of the webinar up for you to hear the stories of success and the very specific examples of how each organization is doing the four things I’ve listed here. I’ve even made the slides available for you to download.
My guess is you are doing some of them, but not at the level of action that will make a significant difference.
What Simple Action To Take Next?
Schedule a break to download the slides and view the webinar replay with your staff and even your board. When you’re done have a discussion about what changes you’ll make to create significant fundraising results THIS year.
