Get Away and Get Energized to Increase Your Fundraising Impact!

Wow. My to-do list has been re-ordered. Items crossed out, items added, a sharper focus overall.

The secret? A half day of air travel yesterday. It was magical. I was strategic in what I brought and in what I knew I could accomplish.

In addition to my to-do list (which I must have or I am lost), I edited a client report and a proposal template, and reviewed some research questions ... I was on a roll.

There's something about a changed environment that can empower us to increase focus and think differently. I always gain new insight and develop new ideas when I fly. It's like a solo brainstorming session.

Here we are passing mid-year — soon we will all be in the home stretch, pushing hard to close out 2014 with record success. It will go fast.

Look at the next two weeks. How can you get away? How can you capture time to think more strategically? Is there a conference room at another office you can escape to? Is there a nearby waterfront that inspires you?

Bring a few key projects that have deadlines approaching. Bring one or two of those internal projects that you just never seem to have time to address — and make it the most important ones. Bring your goals for the year, your fundraising plan (with benchmarks/status year to date), your personal goals, and your tactical to-do list.

Allow yourself the essential luxury of thinking longer term. Not day to day — but month by month, year-end and even two to three years out for you and your organization.

Invest some quality time now, and increase your ability to make a greater impact on your organization's mission through increased philanthropic support.