The 4 Forever Facts About Fundraising

Fundraising is about being in it for the long haul. It's more akin to a marriage than a one-night stand. Spend as much money (or more) on cultivating your current donors, i.e., the folks who already love you, as you do acquiring new leads.

3. Fundraising is about being prepared

I'm not involved with the Boy Scouts, but I love their motto — "Be prepared." Say it after me. "Be prepared." Tape it to your laptop. Without a plan, you'll never succeed at raising money. You've simply got to have an editorial calendar to map out your appeals, a schedule for each of your campaigns, and you have to be aware of the other activities that are going on inside your organization so you can leverage, instead of cannibalize, these programs.

That said, you also need the flexibility and creativity to take advantage of your "golden moments." This is easier to do quickly online. For example, when it comes to light that a gubernatorial candidate has been skipping out on Social Security for her maid, use this news to promote fair labor practices. Similarly, if (God forbid) another tanker tanks, be ready to capitalize on your donor's heightened awareness of your work to protect our oceans.

4. Fundraising is FUN!

We begrudge fundraising as a task. For example, everyone looks away when I bring up the fall stewardship campaign at my church. No one wants to join the committee. When asked why, people say that asking for money makes them feel awkward. Here's the problem. Fundraising is about more than money, and the best fundraisers know this.

Great fundraisers also are consummate educators and relationship builders. They are evangelists for their causes. Their passion for alleviating poverty, adopting abandoned pets, reducing carbon emissions, etc., is contagious. And, this is what helps bring in the money. Don't try raising money for something you don't love. It simply won't work.