When I’m invited to speak at professional gatherings, I’m asked frequently to talk about the latest, greatest ideas that will help nonprofit organizations raise more money. I’m never surprised. For many years, I’ve talked with fundraising professionals who attend conferences, participate in webinars, and read publications in a grand quest for the new shiny idea that will result in massive fundraising growth.
Recently, I read some tweets from three fundraising experts related to the search for fundraising’s Holy Grail. While these colleagues and I all embrace innovation, we also share a common belief about what will allow fundraising professionals to be more successful immediately. Here it is:
Master the fundraising fundamentals.
Here’s what T. Clay Buck, CFRE; Andrew Olsen, CFRE; and Tom Ahern all tweeted this month:
Let me demonstrate what I mean by “master the fundamentals.” In a planned-gift marketing seminar I presented a few years ago, I shared a variety of ideas for promoting planned giving. I knew I had a diverse audience, so I provided both simple and sophisticated ideas. While my suggestions were certainly not revolutionary, some of them did push the envelope of current practice.
Following my talk, a fellow came up to me and said, “You didn’t say anything I didn’t already know.” Ouch! That’s not the feedback I like, even if it was just one person’s opinion. I always want everyone to come away from my seminars with at least one terrific idea.
After receiving the stinging feedback, I said to the man, “I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t get any fresh ideas. However, I’d love to hear about how you’ve used the phone to market bequests.”
He replied, “I haven’t implemented a phone program.”
“Ok, then tell me how your direct mail campaign has done,” I requested.
“I haven’t done a planned gift mailing,” he responded.
“Ok, then tell me about your website and how it allows you to track and rate visitor interaction,” I requested.
“Our website isn’t that sophisticated,” he said.
The conversation continued in that vein. The point is that this fellow knew what he should or could be doing, but he was not doing it! He had not 
fully embraced the fundamentals of planned-gift marketing yet he was searching for new ideas, a planned giving Holy Grail. If he would simply implement one of the ideas I had talked about, his planned giving results would have been much stronger.
The fundamentals matter. To be successful, fundraising professionals need to learn the basics and embrace them. Doing so could add up to billions of dollars for the nonprofit sector.
Do you want more money for the annual fund? Then tell me, do you have a monthly donor program? Do you do second-gift appeals? Do you do targeted upgrade appeals? Do you effectively steward gifts to ensure a high donor-retention rate? Do you use database analytics to help you better target asks, even in your direct mail appeals?
Do you want more planned gifts? Then tell me, do you have a sophisticated website that allows you to track individual engagement and then rate prospects based on that? Do you use direct mail to generate bequest commitments and leads? Do you use the telephone to generate planned gifts and leads? Do you use surveys to learn more about prospects while engaging them?
Do you want more corporate support? Then tell me, do you offer something of value to your corporate donors or do you simply expect them to “give back”? Do you only go after the usual suspects or do you also approach the profitable, rapidly growing small and mid-size businesses in your community? Do you just ask or do you cultivate and engage as well?
Don’t get me wrong. Once again, I’m a big fan of fresh ideas and cutting-edge research. Again, so are Buck, Olsen, and Ahern. However, learning without doing accomplishes nothing.
Everyone seeking to work as a fundraising professional should learn the fundamentals so they can effectively identify prospects, educate and cultivate them, ask for gifts, and properly steward supporters.
Implementing relatively simple, small changes can yield big results for your nonprofit organization. Virtually every charity has low-hanging fruit. But, you actually have to go and grab it!
Here are five simple steps, that I outlined several years ago, that you can take now:
1. Look at what you want to accomplish. Do you want a higher donor-retention rate? Do you want more donors? Do you want a larger average gift from your donors?
2. Consider how your fundraising program can be tweaked to allow you to achieve what you want to accomplish. Chances are you probably already know what you should be doing differently to generate better results. If you don’t, then seek the specific expert information you’ll need.
3. Analyze why you have not already made the necessary change. This step might help you identify some internal obstacles you might need to overcome.
4. Develop a Return On Investment (ROI) analysis, short and long term. In other words, how much will the new idea or tweak cost and what is the projected return in terms of leads, donors, and dollars? This will be particularly important if you’re going to seek some special budget dollars or a permanent budget increase. If you can’t get the internal funding, you might be able to leverage your ROI analysis to attract funding from a wealthy individual or a business or foundation.
5. Implement your change. Track results. Adjust your tactics as necessary. Evaluate the outcomes. A core component of Total Quality Management is the belief in the need to always change and enhance operational performance. Look for those opportunities and make sure your changes are having the desired effect.
Mastering the fundamentals. Making simple changes. Doing what you know you should be doing but aren’t. If you do these basic things, you’ll be a wildly successful fundraising professional even if you never stumble across the Holy Grail.
That’s what Michael Rosen says… What do you say?
Michael Rosen Says... 