Comfort Does Not = Innovation

And don’t forget about your data folks. Push the conversation internally around insight innovation. Ask the people who are closest to your data to help you brainstorm new ways to use the information they watch and track every day. Not everyone can think outside of the box, but as a marketer it is your job to drive the conversation across the fundraising program and the support areas to have everyone thinking as often as possible how to separate your brand from the competition.

With the competitive charitable landscape and donor dollars that are hard to come by every year, the fundraising team and support teams (analysts, donor services, agencies, etc.) should be trying to deliver something every year that further separates your organization’s fundraising and community engagement.

In the end, it’s not about creating a new goal; it’s about creating a better way to achieve that goal. Marketing innovation helps you keep your current constituents and helps you find new constituents faster and more efficiently. Aren’t those your goals already? So, why isn’t innovation a formal part of the plan? Ask yourself that … and then ask your executives.