Looking Ahead to Year-End 2014

But if you fell short in 2013 …
For my friends out there who need to “close the gap,” fear not as I have a list for you, too!

1. Don’t panic — and advise everyone around you to do the same.
Why are you below the number you were projected to hit on Dec. 31? Were there outside influences that affected your cause? Did you have goals that were less than realistic? Were there obvious errors in implementation or technology that affected your outreach or your donors’ ability to give? (Talk to your donor-services team/vendor and your tech team to make sure you know all of the pitfalls your donors experienced — even the ones they were not reporting.) Answer these questions first because unrealistic goals and implementation/technology errors that affected your donor relationships require a whole other column or two of space!