Lavishing Love

Most of my clients have maybe two, usually less, people focused on fundraising.  Too often, fundraising isn’t even their only focus.  They have other jobs; additional responsibilities.  As a result, they struggle to raise money.  It’s a struggle made more difficult because their boards, their bosses—often themselves—don’t actually understand what successful fundraising looks like.

It is not finding new donors, asking them for money, asking them again for money, finding more new donors.  In fact, that is a sure road to disaster.

Fundraising—and you’ve heard this a million times—is all about building relationships.  And that is true regardless of how you go about raising funds.

Note that the key word here is relationships, not one-night stands.  You should be looking to build ongoing partnerships, where your donors are loyal to your organization and cause, and where their support grows.  Of course, for them to be loyal to you means you must be steadfast in your interactions with them.

Not persistently asking them to make another gift, but regularly reaching out to tell them how important their support is and what—because of that support—has happened.  Above all, donors want to know that they are making a difference, that their philanthropy has a positive impact.

The impact doesn’t have to large—not every gift is transformative.  Not every need is huge.  Just let donors know that they matter.

That means sending thank you notes—written by you, your team, your board members, maybe if it’s appropriate someone who benefits from your services—telling them something they will help to make happen, or something that happened because of their (and others!) support.  More than that, it means trying to get to know more about them, their philanthropic interests, why they care about you.  

For those you think have the capacity to make a larger gift, getting to know each other usually means getting a face to face meeting.  As we all seem to be getting busier, traffic getting heavier, and—today as I write this—the threat of a pandemic scaring many people about getting up close and personal, it might just mean a call or a very personal email.  I have a lot of my meetings using video conferencing (Zoom is a great, easy, and low-cost way to do this; but there are others).  It is both convenient and deeply personal.  I can see my clients and be seen by them.  We can share documents, see facial expressions, and feel as if we are almost in the same room. 

Given the fact that most of the money you could be raising will come from a small percentage of those who give, building these relationships is really important.  Too often, those working at organizations with small development offices spend way too much of their time on transactional fundraising.  Not only does this bring in less, it also has much higher attrition rates for donors.

You can, and should, build relationships here, also.  Those thank you notes works whether the gift is $250 or $250,000.  Invitations to come to events—not fundraising events, just things that organizations often do for their clients, for the community, for their staff that could be of interest to a donor—can make someone feel like an insider.  And insiders have a vested interest in seeing you grow.  Personal emails, from your email address, just giving them a heads up about something that is happening, or telling them of a success begin to build ties.

I often talk about the difference between a touch and a move in fundraising.  A touch is something that simply says to a prospect or donor, hello.  We are here.  And here is what we are doing.  There is no ask, unless you are asking for advice or input.  The whole purpose is to build on a relationship and deepen that.

A move, on the other hand, is something that you do to attempt to push someone closer to making a gift.  For lower level donors, that could be an appeal, a request to purchase tickets or a table to an event.  For likely larger donors, it is a step on the path that you have developed that should culminate in a big gift.  It is another meeting to talk more about the project; to hone in on a potential amount; to meet the other person who must be at the table when the ask is finally made.

I firmly believe that there should be at least three touches between each move.  

This can be daunting if all you are doing is working with major donors.  If you are a small development department, it is what tends to go undone.

In order to ensure that you actually do this most important work, calendar time for donor relations.  And treat this time seriously.  

Build a stewardship plan that outlines what you are doing for donors at different levels of giving and different points in their relationship with you.

First time donors should get a lot of attention.  Lavish love on them so they want to continue supporting your organization.  A donor who has been giving to you for 3 or more years deserves some special affection.  One who recently increased their giving significantly should get significant amounts of love.

Everyone should feel that their gift is important, and that they are stars.  Think thank you instead of please, and you will end up getting a lot more.