SUMMERTIME..............

And too often, development folk think that the living is easy.  Depending on the sector that you are in, it might be your slow time. And even if on the programmatic side nothing changes, your donors may be on vacation, chilling out, or just not interested in thinking philanthropically while the temperatures are high. But it is not a good time for you to slow down.  Indeed, it is a great time to consider what you need to accomplish by the end of the calendar year.

Start by seeing how close are you to reaching your fundraising goal?  If you do your planning and goal setting for your fiscal year, see how you are faring in real time.  Are you where you should be?  If not, what do you need to do to get on track? If so, hurrah and what has been most successful?

In either case, don’t shrug and think it is what it is, and certainly don’t sit on your laurels.  How could you improve your results?  How can you better engage your board?

Engaging your board is not an easy thing.  And let’s be honest, it is not helpful to say that your board is wonderful if they are not participating in giving and getting revenue.  As you should know by now, telling them to find people who will give is not a good use of your time.  They won’t an you will—be frustrated.  Instead, think about the entire process of fundraising and regularly work with them (and yes, that does mean training and holding their collective hand) to identify where each of their comfort zone lies.  And then help them to push that boundary.

I used to start with stewardship.  I’d get my board to actively thank and cultivate existing donors.  I’d have them write personal letters, invite donors to specific events (NOT as a ticket buyer but as a guest!), give them an update on how they’re generosity has made a difference.  And, honestly, if that is all they do—you are ahead of the game.

Rather than asking them for names, I would give them a (short!) list of people/companies I thought could either become donors or become larger donors and ask them who on the list they knew.  Note that this is not a one and done but, rather, an ongoing activity and yes, often many of the names are the same ones you asked last time or the time before.

For those who haven’t yet become donors, cultivation is much needed.  Ask your board members how they can help you to engage these folk.  Are they willing to have a party at their house or place of work?  Ideally, they would invite prospects but, hey, if not, let them invite the prospects you have identified.

Speaking of identified prospects, if you have donors who you want to move to the next level, ask your board to help. And any of the things we’ve already talked about will work—write a note, see who they know (and what they know about them), invite to an event…all are important ways to move these donors to higher ground.

Summertime is a great time to begin this training  Many boards “go dark” in the summer.  Use the time you would have spent on preparing for and staffing the board meeting to hold a training, have a one-on-one meeting, prepare a plan with implementation steps and a timeline.

Use your summertime well and you will find that the living will be easy!