In a recent conversation with a nonprofit executive and his development officer, they begin to lament to me that their particular purpose—although eminently worthy—did not have the broad-based appeal that another charity apparently enjoys. My response was that it didn’t matter. They stared back at me with a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief.
It doesn’t matter. A worthy charitable organization doesn’t need everyone or even the many to become donors. They only need the few that truly believe in the mission and are willing to support it year after year. The “few” may be a few hundred or even a few thousand. In almost all cases, it’s certainly not the hundred-thousands or the millions.
It is an unfortunate byproduct of social media that has reinforced, and even expanded, the notions that the more “likes” you receive, the more “followers” you have, the more stable and sustainable your fundraising revenue will be. Nothing is farther from the truth.
Focus on the relative few that truly believe in why you do what you do. Garner support from these and you won’t need to be concerned with the rest. Principle 4 of The Eight Principles of Sustainable Fundraising® is Learn & Plan™. First learn who would support you by virtue of their fundamental values and then plan how to reach them.
It’s that simple
