3 Ways to Be a Better Fundraiser

Today, Convio released its 2010 Most Generous Online Cities Rankings. It's quite the interesting mix, with representatives from the East Coast, West Coast and Midwest in the top 10:

1. Alexandria, VA
2. Cambridge, MA
3. Arlington, VA
4. Seattle, WA
5. Washington, DC
6. Berkeley, CA
7. St. Louis, MO
8. San Francisco, CA
9. Ann Arbor, MI
10. Minneapolis, MN

My home city of Philadelphia has never been known as the most charitable of places. No, Philadelphia is most known for cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, crazy fans and, oh yeah, our nation's first capital. But Philadelphia does have a large fundraising community, with many nonprofits residing within its borders. Still, it came in at No. 140, a ranking I'd like to see improve given the large fundraising presence in this city. And I'm sure there are plenty of other cities that feel the same way.

So what can you do to be a better fundraiser and help move the needle on your city's ranking (assuming you don't reside in Alexandria — and even if you do, you can always be generous)?

Moira Kavanagh Crosby passes along three tips on how to be a better fundraising professional on her blog, The Nth Factor:

1. Engage. Have you noticed that the best conversationalists – the people you always find yourself drawn to at gatherings – don’t actually talk that much? They ask questions. They stimulate ideas and opinion sharing. And they make you feel energized and special by their sincere interest in what you have say. If you want your nonprofit to be the one your donors are the most drawn to, try talking less and listening more.
2. Give. You ask your donors to upgrade, make extra gifts, respond to matching gift challenges, meet year-end shortfalls, and make stretch gifts. Do you do any of these things? If you want to effectively connect with donors, you yourself need to be one.
3. Dazzle. Whether you are talking to your donors in a ballroom or a living room, through a letter or a blog post, nothing inspires a donor like passion, intelligence and originality. It’s a lot of work to bring your A game to every donor communication. Fortunately your organization’s mission is well worth it.

And make sure you do that online and off. Because nothing helps improves your own fundraising and the generosity of your community like multichannel communications, engaging donors and supporters everywhere they look.