A Hiker's Guide to Fundraising

That's why it is important to have personal celebrations of the great things you do. Be your own best cheerleader. Take a vacation or a long weekend during a "flat" stretch. You can't keep running at 110 percent or constantly climb uphill. Enjoy the stretches when it's a bit more relaxed, and use them to recharge yourself for the next steep climb.

No. 5: Some hikes are for quiet meditation while others are for bonding with friends
When you cruise along the Inside Passage of Alaska, there is a stretch of water when a local pilot will board the ship and take control of the bridge. The reason is that those are narrow waters, and an expert who has sailed through them over and over again is the best choice for navigating through the obstacles so the ship accomplishes its goal of a safe passage.

In the same way, a fundraiser can often benefit from someone who comes alongside to help you meet a deadline, accomplish an income goal — or simply get more done with better results. Many things you can and will do on your own. But sometimes you need to call on someone with more expertise or even a specialty in a specific area (i.e., fundraising copywriting, optimizing landing pages for fundraising, planned-giving marketing or analytics, to name just a few). There is no shame in this, and it can result in more net dollars for program — the ultimate goal of any fundraising program.

No. 6: It's the little things that can trip you up
Be it an untied shoe lace, a tree root or a small stone, the small obstacles along the trail can trip up any hiker. We're all watching for the boulders and the sharp drop-offs, but it's easy to overlook the little impediments that can land you flat on your face, eating a mouthful of dirt.