Fundraiser Education

Nothing sharpens your decision-making prowess quite like establishing a new fundraising operation, with the heart-thumping expectation of growing income quickly. Opportunities abound, but how do you make the best of them? Anita de Ruijter, fundraising and communications manager at Save the Children New Zealand, outlines four scenarios. What would you do?

When you consider the ubiquitous raffles, benefit events, cookie and candy sales, most of us have far more fundraising experience than we realize. Many people have sales backgrounds and ask for money every day. Others have prepared grant proposals or solicited corporate gifts. The purpose of this activity is to assess the fundraising skill level of your team and to reinforce the idea that your colleagues know more than they think. It's also a fun, physical activity that gets people moving.

Over the past century, almost all the compelling examples of philanthropic impact involve multiple grant makers, nonprofits and other organizations working together toward common goals. Think of the campaign against tuberculosis a century ago involving foundations, nonprofits and insurance companies. Or think of the work by so many on gay rights in recent decades.

Big progress against tough challenges requires a lot of effective organizations working together.

While the economy is not quite as rocky as it was back in 2009, turbulent times are certainly not a thing of the past. That's what makes the advice doled out in the session "Fundraising in Turbulent Times" at the DMA Nonprofit Federation's 2009 New York Nonprofit Conference still so relevant today.

My first Google Hangout happened last month courtesy of Marc Pitman, founder of FundraisingCoach.com and a member of the FS Editorial Advisory Board. He was gathering some of his fellow contributors to “The Essential Fundraising Handbook for Small Nonprofits” and invited me to join them for a conversation. (Check it out at here.)

There’s a reason we named our conference Engage. It’s because, of course, engagement rests at the very core of fundraising: engagement with donors, engagement among peers and even heartfelt engagement at the deepest level with your chosen profession. Without it, it’s all just talk. And the world has enough talk. The world needs action, which comes from engagement. And that is where you shine. So shine on, and stay engaged.

In the not-for-profit world, it is never about medals. In fact, you live so that others receive glory. The volunteers, prospects, donors, staff and others engage with you on an ongoing basis. You continually seek ways to motivate, inspire and recognize these individuals on both a short- and long-term time period.

At the DMA Nonprofit Federation's 2014 Washington Nonprofit Conference two weeks ago, Chuck Longfield, Blackbaud's chief scientist and past recipient of DMANF's Max L. Hart Nonprofit Achievement Award, asked a very simple question: "Are you reaching your fundraising potential?"

An executive coaching client recently asked me about my favorite two or three leadership books. Here are the first five that came to mind. Not surprisingly, each one is within easy reach of my desk. And I find myself thinking about their concepts or quoting them practically every week: "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini, "Coaching for Performance" by John Whitmore, "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham, "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie and "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey.

Ted Hart speaks with fundraising consultant Gail Perry, author of the Fired-Up Fundraising blog, about new rules for fundraising in changing times on his Nonprofit Coach radio show.