Don't Be a Fundraising Dinosaur: 5 Big Ideas to Adopt Right Now

Here are more provocative nuggets from the recent AFP International Conference in Vancouver. I just couldn't resist sharing these "status-quo" challenges!

Here's my challenge: Take this list to your next board meeting. Ask your board members: "What are your impressions of these ideas?"

Big Idea No. 1: Stop talking about yourself.
I'm hearing this over and over. And I bet you are too. But are you really, really following this new rule of fundraising? Guess what: It's not about YOU or your organization. It's about the cause!

Martin Luther King Jr. never said "I have an organization." He said, of course, "I have a dream!" AFP speaker Fraser Green said that MLK never once, in all his speeches, ever talked about his organization! Maybe you just better lessen the emphasis on your fine, wonderful organization.

And, hold on — people are not particularly interested in what you DO either. A favorite tweet from the #afpmeet: "Nobody is interested in what you do, but you. Everybody is interested in what you achieve when you do it." — Simon Pidgeon #Afpmeet (@RoryJMGreen) April 3, 2012

And: Nobody cares when your organization was founded. Nobody. It's all about the CAUSE. The dream. Your organization's dream of a new and improved world. THAT's the conversation you need to be having!

Big Idea No. 2: Donor retention is more important than cash totals.
Whoa, what was that? Did I hear right? Peter Drury wowed us all with his presentation on "Beyond Cash Fundraising Metrics."

"If you focus exclusively on the cash you receive this year — then you are exposing your organization to great risk."

You and I know that this is really a sustainability issue. How are we setting ourselves up (not not) for future success? How are today's decisions (or not) going to impact next year's fundraising?