Have a fundraising challenge you want to crack? Weary of doing the same old, same old, yet hoping for different outcomes? Do you want the over-the-top results that come from superior strategy?
Email me with your particular problem and I'll arrange a quick consultation offering you a practical solution you can implement. I may even use your situation to share with my readers. Names are changed, of course!
Over the past couple of months a number of nonprofit executives have reached out to me regarding their fundraising events.
In case you haven't noticed, it's a hot topic. See the tongue in my cheek?
Many of you will have formed the opinion that I'm not too keen on events.
You'd be right—and wrong.
What I'm really focused upon is getting clarity in your fundraising program objectives and then choosing the vehicles that will achieve those objectives.
Principle 2 of The Eight PrinciplesTM is Begin at the BeginningTM. Know what you're about and where you're headed before launching.
As an example, I was speaking recently with the executive director of a charity benefiting disabled adults who felt overwhelmed by all of his duties. Dave is a one-man shop and it's up to him if anything gets off the ground.
Events are time consuming. No way around it. As cash generators they're marginally successful or outright losers depending upon how you do your accounting. Hint: Real revenue is about the net after all your costs are deducted. More on that another time.
In Dave's situation it wasn't so much about an emotional commitment to an event or a dire cash need as it was about knowing what his real fundraising objectives were.
They were about raising money, right? In part, but not completely.
Revenue is the ultimate desired outcome of any fundraising program. Cash is the result, not the cause, however.
I asked Dave to take a look at his program and answer a few questions for me. How his his revenue growth (in percentage points) improved over the past three to five years? What was his first-year donor-retention rate—the rate at which a first-year donor gives again the following year? How large was his base of donors? At what point in their life-cycle are they?
Once he was able to give me answers to these questions, the various pieces of his fundraising program began to assume their natural place. That included the annual extravaganza he's responsible for.
He decided that what he really needed wasn't so much a cash generator as an opportunity to show supporters true appreciation and to remind them of the reasons they are a part of this worthy undertaking.
Dave thanked me for pointing him the right direction. He really solved his own dilemma, however. A mentor of mine once told me that's what a good coach does. Showing someone how to solve their own problems rather than just offering a solution.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to Dave for reaching out.
Let me hear from you. Please share your situation and the challenges you face in developing sustainable revenue streams. Email me and I'll arrange a brief consult providing you with practical guidance. I'll choose some of these thorny obstacles to share, along with my insights, in upcoming columns.
Success is waiting. Go out and achieve it.
- Categories:
- Events
- NonProfit Pro
Larry believes in the power of relationships and the power of philanthropy to create a better place and transform lives.
Larry is the founder of The Eight Principles. His mission is to give nonprofits and philanthropists alike the opportunity to achieve their shared visions. With more than 25 years of experience in charitable fundraising and philanthropy, Larry knows that financial sustainability and scalability is possible for any nonprofit organization or charitable cause and is dependent on neither size nor resources but instead with the commitment to create a shared vision.
Larry is the author of the award-wining book, "The Eight Principles of Sustainable Fundraising." He is the Association of Fundraising Professionals' 2010 Outstanding Development Executive and has ranked in the Top 15 Fundraising Consultants in the United States by the Wall Street Business Network.
Larry is the creator of the revolutionary online fundraising training platform, The Oracle League.
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