Take a Deep Breath
Summer is a great time to gear up for fundraising's high season.
July 2006 By Tim Burgess
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The summer slump — distractions, boredom, fleeting thoughts of a new job, donor inattention — is in full effect, isn’t it? Some are lucky enough to be reading this month’s column while lounging in the backyard or at the beach. Others are grinding away at the office worrying about meeting their revenue budget this month.
So, here are some thoughts to ponder as you meander through your summer.
Remember what you’re doing with the work side of your life. Every fundraiser is engaged in work that really matters, work that’s bringing joy, practical solutions and hope to the countless people our organizations exist to serve.
Whether you’re raising funds for an arts organization, a school or a medical center, an international humanitarian group or environmental cause, you’re doing something significant. Your work is making the world a better place.
I was listening to a client as she described the practical results of a recent direct-mail fundraising campaign. She was glowing as she rattled off a set of figures — number of people helped, number of bags of groceries provided, etc. She understood the relationship between her fundraising efforts and the end results.
But as fundraisers, we’re doing more than serving the needs of the people being helped by our organizations. We’re helping our donors unlock the grace of giving; that’s a satisfying endeavor because it helps round out our perspective of our work.
Get perspective
Far too many of us tend to see our work as an intrusion into our donors’ lives. How very wrong.
Believe it or not, donors want to be engaged. They want to know what’s happening with you and how they can help. Your donors are looking for opportunities to invest to make a difference. Honor them by keeping them informed through appeal packages, newsletters, gift acknowledgments that affirm and encourage further giving, and special reports.
A common concern I hear goes something like this: “We mail our donors far too frequently, and I get all these complaints.”
Let me challenge you to use some of your extra time this summer collecting donor complaints. Collect them for an entire month, say July or August. Then analyze those complaints and categorize them by type: remove from mailing list; concern about message content; questions or complaints about your programs, etc. Determine who’s complaining about mail volume or asking to be removed from your mailing list by looking up giving histories. In every such review I’ve been involved with, I’ve found that the complainers overwhelmingly are deep-lapsed donors or non-donors who got on the data file.
So, here are some thoughts to ponder as you meander through your summer.
Remember what you’re doing with the work side of your life. Every fundraiser is engaged in work that really matters, work that’s bringing joy, practical solutions and hope to the countless people our organizations exist to serve.
Whether you’re raising funds for an arts organization, a school or a medical center, an international humanitarian group or environmental cause, you’re doing something significant. Your work is making the world a better place.
I was listening to a client as she described the practical results of a recent direct-mail fundraising campaign. She was glowing as she rattled off a set of figures — number of people helped, number of bags of groceries provided, etc. She understood the relationship between her fundraising efforts and the end results.
But as fundraisers, we’re doing more than serving the needs of the people being helped by our organizations. We’re helping our donors unlock the grace of giving; that’s a satisfying endeavor because it helps round out our perspective of our work.
Get perspective
Far too many of us tend to see our work as an intrusion into our donors’ lives. How very wrong.
Believe it or not, donors want to be engaged. They want to know what’s happening with you and how they can help. Your donors are looking for opportunities to invest to make a difference. Honor them by keeping them informed through appeal packages, newsletters, gift acknowledgments that affirm and encourage further giving, and special reports.
A common concern I hear goes something like this: “We mail our donors far too frequently, and I get all these complaints.”
Let me challenge you to use some of your extra time this summer collecting donor complaints. Collect them for an entire month, say July or August. Then analyze those complaints and categorize them by type: remove from mailing list; concern about message content; questions or complaints about your programs, etc. Determine who’s complaining about mail volume or asking to be removed from your mailing list by looking up giving histories. In every such review I’ve been involved with, I’ve found that the complainers overwhelmingly are deep-lapsed donors or non-donors who got on the data file.
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