A Realistic Look at Annual Funds

Direct mail is super-saturated. Younger generations are not using e-mail except at work, etc., etc. Annual fundraising is getting more and more difficult.

And, who hasn’t seen at least one story this week encouraging better use of social media in annual giving? Questions about social media are everywhere. Trustees are asking, “Why can’t we raise the millions that Obama did using social media?” The short, albeit flippant, answer, of course, is, “We can — as soon as we figure out how to secure nightly coverage on cable news for the next 52 consecutive weeks.”