Go On ... I Dare You

• If you never raise funds by telephone because somebody's afraid of a backlash, give telemarketing a try.
• If you go silent on donors after they give because you're afraid they'll go away if you ask too soon — try asking a couple of weeks after a gift.
• If you never let donors designate your giving because you're afraid they'll bust your budget, let them give restricted gifts to the areas of their choice.

You don't have to make an irrevocable, wholesale commitment to a scary idea. Just test it in a limited, measurable situation. If it doesn't work, stop. You're off the hook. And the ideas above — they'll probably work.