Commitment Over Technique

A dependable revenue stream that grows—ah, paradise!

Have a fundraising challenge you want to crack? Weary of doing the same old, same old yet hoping for different outcomes? Do you want the over-the-top results that come from superior strategy?

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Anyone who knows me knows a constant mantra of mine is “principles over process.” If fundraisers get that one piece, they save themselves much frustration, many disappointments, and many, many headaches.

The second mantra that I’ve often heard repeated is similar. It’s “commitment over technique.”

Recently, I spoke with an executive director, development officer and board member of a small social service charity. It was a conference bridge so everyone got to join in. They had reached out through this column to discuss how to move beyond stagnation in their fundraising results. Boy, was it revealing.

What struck me was their preoccupation with perfection in the small niceties—their preoccupation with fine-tuning the status quo. They saw every real or perceived failure of their past efforts as the result of a lack of perfection in technique or someone dropping the ball. Recriminations abounded. They were absolutely obsessed with tweaking what they were already doing.

Doing things well does matter. Getting the details right does make a difference.

But… Making a commitment to be effective in fundraising is so much more important than polishing your technique or clinging to an established effort.

Making a commitment means doing whatever it takes. It means re-evaluating everything—all the time. It means change. It means risk. It means fear. It means the real possibility of failure.

It means not hiding behind ridiculous statements, such as “we’ve always done it that way,” or “we’re different here.” I’m amazed how responsible adults can actually say these sorts of things straight-faced and assume they will be taken seriously.