Fundraiser Education

Ted Hart speaks with Amy Eisenstein, principal of fundraising consultancy Tri Point Fundraising, about her book, "Raising More With Less," on his Nonprofit Coach radio show.

For our January 2011 cover story, Dane Grams and Richard DeVeau shared ways small fundraising staffs can be real powerhouses when it comes to raising money in "Little Dogs … Big Tricks."

Here are 15 mistakes we all wish we had known about without having to actually make them! There may only be seven deadly sins, but there are myriad marketing missteps. If you have others to add, we’d love to hear from you!

FundRaising Success published its first issue in November 2003, which makes this our 10-year anniversary year. To celebrate, we’ll be taking a look back at past issues throughout the year. Following are some words of wisdom culled from the October 2005 issue.

As Nancy Schwartz relays in her latest column in our February issue, "8 Must-Do Fundraising Changes to Make Now," continued success depends on staying on top of what's working and what's not in the fundraising sector. Nancy, president of Nancy Schwartz & Co. and author of the Getting Attention! blog, will lead the roundtable on Keys to Integrated Fundraising Success at Engage.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everybody in your organization agreed on what it takes for successful fundraising? Everybody in your organization — all the staff, board members, leaders of all types — needs to understand and agree on certain fundamentals about fundraising. You need to have a “culture of philanthropy” that everybody agrees upon and buys into. Right? What are the “pre-conditions” for fundraising success? Here are 10 basic fundamentals on how fundraising really works — and how it doesn’t work — today.

More Than Wheels and Ways to Work, a much larger car-loan group with headquarters in Milwaukee, successfully mined each other’s data and observations for ideas, and then turned those ideas into substantive changes in their own operations. Their experience, they say, is a testament to the value of taking the unusual step of openly sharing information, something most charities avoid because of concerns about competition.

It’s not the job of the development staffer to convince program staff of the importance of fundraising. It is our job to appreciate the work of program staff, communicate regularly with them, observe them “in the trenches,” and share that knowledge with funders. By sharing drafts of development writing with program staff and soliciting their feedback, I’ve gained valuable insights — and opened their eyes to the work of a fundraiser. Respect isn’t a given. It’s earned — and it begins by showing it to others.

A fundraiser is anyone who, either as a volunteer or paid, works to raise the money, commitment and enthusiasm that’s needed to fuel good works. Full stop. A hands-on fundraiser is any fundraiser who doesn’t just talk about it, but actually does it. Data-planners, copywriters, input clerks, creative strategy-formulators, major donor solicitors, fundraising directors, marketers, team leaders, envelope-stuffers, thankers and bankers, agency account executives and telephone and doorstep askers are all hands-on fundraisers. To name but a few.

In a fundraising climate where oversaturation, more competition for funds and new technologies make attracting and retaining donors that much more difficult, innovation is vital for nonprofit organizations looking to survive and thrive not only today, but in the future.