Be Good

“If you’re focused on fundraising, you’re probably focused on inspiring generosity in other people. But how generous are you? I’ve found in life, in fundraising and in blogging, the more generous I am, the more successful my efforts. Scrooges in terms of sharing information, credit and or time get little.

Be a good fundraiser (and person) by:

1. Being generous with our thanks. Thank people before they give, after they give and every chance you get. All of us have many options for spending the precious time we have in our short lives. If someone chooses to spend a few moments on you — by reading your message or taking your call, not just by giving — you should be honored. Thank people for even bothering to pay attention. Be generous in thanking — and in listening.

2. Being generous with our information. If you have really useful information, share it first and ask for support after. You could require money and registration to get valuable information from your organization, but increasingly online users will just go elsewhere if you present that barrier. Give it away and people will give. I truly believe this. Just look at public radio. How many listeners would they have if you had to pay to tune in, like cable TV? We give away loads of free trainings and information here at Network for Good — and wouldn’t you know it, a lot of the people who get things for free decide to become paying customers of our other services.

3. Being generous with giving credit. Blog reader Zan of the Pride Foundation’s annual report is called the Gratitude Report. What an amazing display of generosity — instead of grandstanding about how great their organization is, they put the spotlight on their supporters. That is generosity at its finest. Give credit freely and lavishly — it feels good and it all comes back to you, really.”

— “What is Good: Being Relentlessly Generous,” Getting to the Point, Katya Andresen’s Non-profit Marketing Blog, Sept. 14 (www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com)