LUCKY

I seem to have dodged the bullet.  My husband came back from our vacation with a miserable cold; friends have done the same.  I’d like to say it’s because I was smarter than he was, but in truth, we both did all the same things.  We both crammed into the London tubes, went to the same concerts, museums, wandered around in the same rain and wind.  And when he got sick, I didn’t isolate.  We sleep together, hug each other, kiss.  Luck, I would say, was on my side.

Luck is both a verb and a noun.  As a noun, it means a force that brings both good fortune and adversity (as in bad luck).  As a verb, it means to succeed through chance.  I feel, by staying healthy while Geoff is pretty sick, I have had both luck and lucked out.

Luck is something we don’t consider enough in our work.  Yes, it takes planning, consistency, time to sustainably have a successful fundraising program.  But luck can and often does play a part.  Be aware, however, that the more you plan, the more aware you are, the more opportunities you identify, the more luck you will have.

When I was at the University of Oregon, one of my jobs was building a major gift program in Southern California.  A board member mentioned that a childhood friend of his from Eugene was now an incredibly wealthy individual living in an exclusive area  of Los Angeles.  The board member asked me to meet with this friend and see if he would be interested in supporting the university.  “Probably not,” he laughed.  “But it is worth a shot.”

So I called, mentioned the board member’s name, and Micheal—that was the prospect’s name—said sure, let’s meet up for lunch.

It might now have gone much further except that Michael, who had been a huge supporter of his alma mater, had recently become very disenchanted with the leadership of that institution.  I was confident that our leadership would present a very different picture and arranged for a meeting with our President, a few deans, and some students when Michael next came up to Eugene.

It was a love fest.  And over time Michael made several really transformational gifts to the University.

Luck.  Timing.  And yes, some hard work.

Another donor who made a huge difference was someone whose name came up, but no one knew them.  I mentioned them randomly to a friend.  Who said, “Wait.  I know them.  Let’s all get together for coffee.”  Which we did.  And yes, they became a wonderful loyal donor.

Throughout my career, serendipity and luck have played important roles.  But just as everything you do with fundraising needs to have a follow on plan, luck needs that, also.

A number of years ago, an acquaintance was in between jobs, writing a few grants and trying to figure out her next step.  An organization where I was consulting, needed a grant writer to cover for a staff member who had been in a serious accident.  They asked me, I recommended this acquaintance.  They called her and without an interview, offered her the position.  She said yes.  Luck.  And then she did such a stupendous job, they offered her a full time job.  Skill.  Hard work.

Luck can start the ball rolling, but it takes much more to make a dent and a difference.  Or as Seneca famously said, “Luck is where opportunity meets  preparation