A non-profit’s sustainability is greatly benefited when they can fundraise successfully.
In this post, Leah Lamb shares what allows fundraisers to be highly effective. Her experience as a seasoned professional allows her to clearly capture what allows fundraisers to go beyond just surviving – and thrive.
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Leah Lamb
What qualities and factors explain the success of the best fundraisers? I’ve worked in the non-profit sector for over 25 years. I would cite five habits which allow the best fundraisers to flourish.
- Connecting with people. In general, fundraising is people driven. As I noted in my last post, people generally give to people, not causes or organizations. A fundraiser who isn’t able to connect well with others isn’t generally going to do too well. In getting an organization’s message across, a good fundraiser is able to compel people to get involved and give.
- Working with a strong, educated Board is very important. Having the right Board is an invaluable resource. Having a weak one makes a fundraiser’s job much more difficult.
- Having the right research at your fingertips. When a fundraiser has adequate information on current and prospective donors, they know who they’re talking to. They know what the person is interested in. They know the relevant angles to go after in sparking a person’s involvement. Research which is incomplete or inaccessible contributes to a fundraiser being ineffectual, not highly effective.
- Having access to good technology. A fundraiser who is forced to work with out-of-date and/or unreliable technology will be less effective in doing their job. Using a manual approach, when proven technological tools exist, can greatly hinder your fundraising outcomes.
- Having strong follow-through skills. Taking the right first steps alone is not enough. Be focused and follow through on what you have started. Personally, my focus and experience has taught me the best ways to get people excited, engaged, involved, and giving. People give best when I’ve taken all the steps needed.
As it relates to technology and research, an effective fundraiser stays abreast of the current trends. Moreover, understand that in-kind donations can help a fundraiser secure some of the mission-critical resources they need to succeed.
If you accept and master these 5 habits, you’ll be a far better fundraiser for your organization. As long as they can connect and follow through well, fundraisers who have the right resources, Board, and technology will be more successful at raising funds.
LEARN
- CONNECT: People generally give to people, not organizations
- SELECT the right people for your Board of Directors.
- Weak boards weaken your ability to be an accomplished fundraiser.
- RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
- These two go hand in hand. You can’t operate in the past; you have to strive to operate with today’s technology and tools.
- PERSEVERE
- Don’t just talk about it, walk it out. Follow-through; don’t just start and get stalled.
GROW
“Just as organizational culture is co-created by the staff, board and other stakeholders of an organization, the sector’s response to the entrenched fundraising challenges nonprofits face has to be a collective effort.”
“Beyond Fundraising: What does it mean to build a Culture of Philanthropy“ (Cynthia M. Gibson, a recent Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund report)
“In a recent survey of nonprofits by the Nonprofit Finance Fund, more than half of respondents reported that they have at most 90 days of operational cash on hand. With so little cushion, it’s hard to let go of a reliable grant or gala and try something new, particularly when the payoff could be long in coming”.
“First, We Kill All the Galas”, Rebecca Koenig (Chronicle of Philanthropy article)
Financial Sustainability and the related topic of fundraising are critically-important issues for all non-profits today. Leah Lamb, a seasoned pro in fundraising, outlines above the critical matters for fundraisers to understand and deal with. Some of Lamb’s very thoughts are echoed by Neil Edgington, in a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He states the following:
Non-profit leaders need to move away from some ineffective practices, such as:
- Being reactive, rather than strategic, about money.
- Not calculating fundraising activities’ return on investment
- Not aligning money and mission
- Allowing boards to dismiss their fundraising responsibilities.
These sentiments really illuminate a picture of fundraising and philanthropy which many of you already know. They speak to the current state of affairs facing non-profits. These organizations need to change their game.
- Many in the sector are struggling. A recent Non-Profit Finance Fund survey reflects these struggles.
- Fundraising and the culture of giving starts at the top of an organization. It is more than simply an organizational position. It demands the collective effort of every person working for the non-profit.
- Research & Technology. Let me put it like this. Donald Trump has run an entire campaign off of Twitter and Instagram, and almost no Ads. Isn’t this telling you something about how technology has transformed the game? Non-profits can’t continue to do it the old-fashioned way and expect great results. Lamb is right to state that access to technology is an essential fundraising habit.
- Marketing: Please stop making it an afterthought in your organization.
In a Chronicle of Philanthropy article (Solving Nonprofit Money Woes Means Doing More Than Building a ‘Culture of Philanthropy’), Neil Edgington raises a very important question:
- “Why is there not enough investment in the financial function of nonprofit organizations — the staffing, systems, technology, planning, and marketing necessary to build sustainable financial models?”
In the end, fundraising is a mission-critical activity for non-profits. Therefore, knowing and using five domains for resources may make or break your organization. Those domains are: Individuals, foundations, government agencies, corporations, and earned revenue.
- What are your current funding sources?
- Do they need to be re-evaluated?
I hope you’re starting to ask yourself both of these questions.
Leah Lamb believes that a fundraiser’s ability to successfully compel people to give is hurt by insufficient research (donors), inadequate technology, and bad boards. She’s right. However, with the right research, Board of Directors, and technology the sky is the limit.
A fundraiser who has acknowledged and mastered all five habits she shared above can be more effective and excel.
Photo credit: posterize (FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
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