FIVE STEPS TO INTENTIONAL FUNDRAISING
Sometimes, with our fundraising hats on, we spend all our time setting up appointments or going to networking events without spending the time to plan for how we want these activities to turn out. We go to a mixer and know that we want to get people excited about our organization, but we have not clarity about what we will do next. And too often, our organization has a special event—a gala, walk/run, a golf tournament—and instead of having a plan for what we do next, we sigh with relief when the event is over, and don’t think about the attendees until next year. Or we go out with a prospect and know that our eventual goal is to get a gift but we haven’t gotten clarity about what we want to happen for this meeting.
In other words—we aren’t intentional about our fundraising. Which means that too often our lack of calculation brings forward unintended consequences. Have I shared with you the story of going out to meet with a major donor prospect and having my eye so far out in the future that I didn’t consider what should be happening at this first meeting? And to keep embarrassment to a minimum, let me just say that he wanted information that I didn’t have at hand. That in itself wasn’t so bad, but I felt so dumb for not having anticipated what he might want to know, I pretty much blew the rest of the meeting.
So what do we mean by intentional fundraising?
Simply put it is being thoughtful in your approach and considering not just the move you want to make, but what you want to make out of that move.
For each action you plan on taking, you need to have clarity of why you are taking this action. And you very much need to do this at two levels.—the big view and then the really granular one. Kind of like your strategic plan and then the work plan to meet your strategic goals.
1. The first question, then, is where do you want this to ultimately end up?
For example, if you are getting together with an existing major donor who has recently made a pledge of $100,000 that they will complete over the next 5 years, what is your fundamental purpose:
To finalize recognition for the gift
To ensure that that the pledge is honored over the five years
To move toward increasing the pledge in year 3 from $100,000 to $150,000 over the same period of time?
To get this donor on the board
There are many reasons why you would be going out with this prospect and yes, these reasons may be changed, added to, expanded over time. But in order to ensure that this meeting sets the stage for follow on meetings, you must have clarity about your expectations and hopes.
2. Once you know what you long-range goal or goals is or are, your next step is to begin planning the steps you need to take to get there. At this point, you don’t need to have a complete map, but you should have a starting point, an ending point, and some planned moves in between. a cultivation plan can be developed for each major donor prospect--Cultivation Plan for Jim and Betty Smith, an organization--the USA Bank or Doe Foundation--or for a group. For example, we know that the majority of bequests come from the ranks of your annual donors, so why not develop a cultivation plan for committed annual donors--those who have supported you for 3 or more years--with the goal of getting them to remember you in their wills?
3. Once you’ve begun figuring out your journey, you need to think carefully and completely about each interaction as it is coming up Intentional fundraising recognizes that fundraising is a process. Knowing you want to move Jim from point A to Point B is critical, but knowing how you will do that and what each step looks like is equally important. Jim's attended our gala and told one of our board members how much he enjoyed himself is a good thing, but jumping from that to asking for a gift may not be successul. So you develop a cultivation plan for Jim and know that the next step is to invite him to take a tour. You will be far more successful if you first plan how you will invite him, and then get very clear on what that tour will entail.
4. Document it all. Intentional fundraising means that you keep records about what happened at each strip and what you expect that next step to be. We often call this a contact (or call) report. It answers a few important questions:
Did I learn something new about the prospect that will move him or her to the next step?
Did I learn what motivates them?
Do I know what they love most about us?
Do I know what they care about and would personally support?
5. Engage your volunteers. No matter how good of a fundraiser you are, people respond so much better to peers than they do to staff. Yes, I know, they love you. They think you are amazing. And you are. And yet, you are staff. A volunteer who says “I’ve done this; please join me,” is far more persuasive.