How Often Do You Go to the Well?

I enjoy sayings and figures of speech that stand the test of time. I was recently interested in the concept of "going to the well too often" in the context of fundraising. Figuratively, going to the well too often means that you shouldn't repeat a risky action too often — or you push your luck too far.

According to the 2006 "Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable," an early 14th-century French proverb says, "Tant va pot a eve qu'il brise" ("The pot goes so often to the water that it breaks"). In baseball, the saying is applied when a pitcher throws the same pitch over and over successfully — until the hitter ruins the streak with a hit. The point is that a risk is run when someone continues the same action over and over without change.

There are basically five primary sources of funds in development: corporations, foundations, associations, organizations and individuals. We know from the latest Giving USA data that $335 billion was given in 2013. Every fundraising office in the U.S. struggles each day with various processes such as what prospects to identify, rate, screen, solicit, cultivate and steward to obtain a piece of this pie.

These development officers also struggle with determining what prospects have links to the organization, ability to give to the organization and inclination to give to the organization. The complexity of these many processes can be overwhelming. Because of this, there could be a tendency and comfort in soliciting and securing the same gifts from the same prospects each year.

When I joined a hospital system as chief development officer, I inherited a budget and donors who had been giving to the organization for many years. One particular corporate foundation had given $100,000 a year for several years in a row. There was comfort in the fact that this donor would "always" give to our organization. When I came on board, I certainly began to cultivate the most major donors in terms of cumulative dollars given, largest gift given, most recent gift given and number of gifts given over time. I focused energy on building a relationship with this long-term foundation donor.

Then that corporate foundation had a management change. I met and tried to engage the new replacement from day one but was told that the new person did not have the same interest in our organization as the former representative. That said, I was still confident the $100,000-a-year donation would continue. To my amazement, one day I received a form letter from this foundation that said our request for money was denied. The representative of the foundation would not return my call. I wanted to learn why we didn't receive the grant and what we could do to reposition the hospital for future success. There was a tremendous lesson to be learned. We became dependent on this donor and assumed the money was a slam dunk. We went to the well too many times — then it went dry.

You need to broaden your prospect list and seek multiyear pledges to secure sustained giving. You also need to continue to seek new prospects in your orbit. Cultivate and steward your donors on an ongoing basis. Be aware of changes in corporate and foundation management as this could be a red flag. Always note individual donor feelings toward your organization. Strive to remain positive and, even in defeat, understand that any grant rejection may only be temporary if you don't burn a bridge.

Do not take any gift or relationship for granted. Losing any donation hurts your organization, especially if it is an important piece of your operational budget. But you need to look at the big picture and learn from every victory and defeat. Avoid budgeting a large grant when there is uncertainty as to the outcome of the request.

I strongly recommend in the future that you not only avoid going to the same well over and over, but you invest in building new, multiple wells. Who knows, you might strike oil instead of water!