It's Your Turn: Moving Your Fundraising From the Emergency Room to the Wellness Clinic

The subject of fundraising is broad and deep. We'll focus our gaze on those aspects that relate to developing a sustainable stream of philanthropic revenue, which scales over time.

The current state of financial affairs for nonprofits is both regrettable and avoidable. While other revenue sources plateau and even decline, philanthropy remains the source that holds considerable untapped potential. Despite this, far too many nonprofits struggle in their fundraising efforts. Even those organizations that aren't on the financial edge often have woefully underperforming fundraising programs.

What's to be done? The solution lies in making a fundamental change in the way in which nonprofit fundraising is conducted. That shift is moving away from a model dependent on short-term, urgent efforts to one that anticipates need — both of the organization and of the philanthropist.

Impossible, you say? I don't think so. Every challenge, whether simple or substantial, comprises incremental steps, taken with a relentless focus on the ultimate goal.

I want to hear from you about the very real and practical challenges you face in building fundraising programs that are both sustainable and scalable (info@TheEightPrinciples.com). I'll give you a quick response, and I'll choose some of these thorny obstacles to share, along with my insights, in upcoming columns.

Whether your organization is small or large, well-heeled or struggling from day to day, you'll benefit immeasurably from taking a good, hard look at whether your organization spends more of its time in the fundraising emergency room or makes planned visits to the wellness clinic. You'll learn what sends you to the emergency room and how not to go there — anymore than you absolutely must.

We'll be tackling the real and practical issues you face in creating a revenue stream that enables your organization fulfill its mission and its aspirations. I firmly believe that sustainable, scalable philanthropic revenue is within the reach of every nonprofit organization.