Fundraising is about more, isn’t it? More donors, more money. More flexibility. More. More. More.
Except it isn’t.
We see this every day in the frenetic race that is the fundraising year. Get the calls in. Get the gifts in. Get those new donors. Up. Up. Up.
The difficulty is when “more” arrives, it’s not what we asked for.
Huh?
Principle 4 of The Eight Principles™ is Learn & Plan™. Learn who your donors are before planning how to pursue them.
Sounds easy enough. And it is.
But—it runs counter to the more, more, more, strategy.
Because, if you know who will support you you’ve also discovered who won’t.
When we launch out to secure investments from those investors who will naturally support us we’ve decided not to pursue others.
“I must ask everyone, or I’ll miss out,” you say.
When you feel this way, refer back to Principle 4. Repeat.
Focus on those who WILL support you and you’ll never miss those who won’t.
This is called “better.”
Now that’s a sustainable fundraising idea.
