8 Steps to Take During Difficult Times

7. Focus. Are you focused on the right donors on your caseload, the right strategies and the right tactics? Take a quick inventory. You may discover that you suffer from a lack of proper focus and that this lack of focus is contributing to weakened relationships and performance.

8. Be aware of shifts in donor attitudes and preferences. Like never before, donors want to express themselves and be involved. They want choice and control. They want to know they are respected and valued. They want to know you understand them and are trying to meet their needs. If you're not giving donors the opportunity to be heard, if you are not paying attention to meeting their needs, the most likely outcome will be high donor attrition.

When times get tough, there is a group of donors that cannot give as it did before. This is to be expected. And you should make those donors feel honored and respected in their lower giving state — you should let them know you understand and you appreciate and care for them just as much as when they were giving at a higher level.

But there are also donors who can give more. Look for them, and ask them to do it.

Lastly, when times are tough, donors get more picky and discriminating. I actually like it because it demands excellence of all of us in the nonprofit world. But, let me warn you, if you are not listening for their questions, concerns and worries, you will not hear them. And if you don't hear them, you will lose them.

Tough times require a far greater amount of vigilance and discipline on your part and on the part of your organization and leadership. It's time to step it up a notch!!

—Richard