Face-to-face Fundraising

Gail Wilson-Giarratano prepares for a grilling when she asks for money for Girls Inc. of the Capital Region, a youth program for inner-city girls in Schenectady and Albany.

Gone are the days when corporate donors wrote checks for the “nice” programs or the “cute” girls, said Wilson-Giarratano, the nonprofit’s CEO and its chief fundraiser.

The recession has left corporate donors with less money to give, and they are scrutinizing charitable requests with a keen eye. Now, more than ever, return on investment weighs heavily in determining who gets what.

At the 2010 Bridge Conference in National Harbor, Md., last Wednesday, Tony Elischer, managing director of Think Consulting Solutions, said fundraisers should focus on the third “R” — rewriting, as in rewriting how you think and how you fundraise. To do that, he proposed looking at fundraising as four babies — brave baby, baby and the bathwater, looking to the future baby, and fully managed baby — in his keynote presentation, “Futurology 2010: Focus, Determination & Transformation."

Every fundraiser has his or her tried-and-true bag of tricks. But in this day of donors seeking to be more actively involved with the charities they support, it might be time to bury those bags and try a fresh approach.

Your nonprofit needs you to have the courage to fundraise. I’m surprised how often I need to remind fundraisers that their job is to raise funds. That is true for CEOs and executive directors too. Here’s hoping these two approaches will help you ask without fear and see your mission fully funded!