More outreach, more tweets, more crowd funding. Hardly a day goes by that we’re not told how we can scale our fundraising through mass vehicles.
The unique fundraising idea is taking time to reach out one-to-one that actually scales your fundraising program. That is if “to scale” means building and growing your sustainable, renewable fundraising revenue. The mass outreach does raise money and it does have its place. Don’t’ confuse such efforts with scalability and sustainability, however. These raise funds at the bottom of the pyramid and have a very, very low renewal rate.
When your best donor calls to discuss an important project she is considering, you don’t rush her. When you write personal notes to your long-time supporters, you take the time to do them right. You invest time in remembering birthdays and personal tastes. This is the 80-20 rule in operation.
But I can’t possibly do this for everyone, you say. That’s right. Principle 6 of The Eight Principles™ is Divide & Grow™. It’s the principle of treating different people differently. The unique fundraising idea is not every situation warrants personal intervention. But some do.
Don’t confuse “same” with “effective.” People really don’t want to be treated the same. They want to be treated as the individuals they are. Now there’s a unique fundraising idea.
