Have a Listen: San Francisco Symphony
FS: What kind of advice do you have for arts organizations in terms of their fundraising efforts?
RL: Always look at your plan and don’t just execute what you did last year but really look hard at what worked and what didn’t and make sure that you’re learning from that and applying that in the year ahead. The second thing is just know your audience. Know what people are thinking. Be out there as much as you can in terms of relationship building and learning more about your donors and keep really good systems where you maintain that information and keep adding it with the number of contacts. I think that you really need to look hard at [ROI] and make sure that the return on your list is successful, but also look at ways that people that attend events could then be brought into the other parts, the more sustaining elements of the development structure. So if someone attends an event and has a really positive experience, are you able to visit them within three months after the event, build a relationship with a development officer, and make a case for annual fund support as well?
- People:
- Robert Lasher
- Places:
- Bay Area
- San Francisco