Early in my career, I was given a copy of a book which my experienced colleague at the time said would “be the basis for your success.” The book was Designs for Fund-Raising by Harold J. Seymour. Harold (Si) Seymour is considered one of the founding fathers of modern fundraising. His book, originally published in 1966, established many fundamental concepts that still form the backbone of fundraising practice today.
For me, these are the key aspects that remain relevant:
- The emphasis on relationship-building rather than simply asking for money
- The importance of thorough planning and strategic campaign design
- Understanding donor psychology and motivation
- The cultivation cycle for major gifts
- The concept of donor stewardship
While specific tactical recommendations in the book may be outdated (predating digital fundraising, social media, and modern analytics), many of the core principles about human behavior, generosity, and effective solicitation remain remarkably relevant.
Today all of us still benefit from Seymour's insights on building genuine connections with donors, creating compelling case statements, and designing comprehensive campaign structures. We may need to adapt these principles to contemporary channels and donor expectations.
Here are some examples:
Build Genuine Donor Connections
- Seymour emphasized authentic relationship-building over transactional approaches, which remains essential as donors increasingly seek meaningful engagement.
- His principle that fundraising is "friend-raising first" aligns perfectly with modern relationship-focused philanthropy.
- His emphasis on understanding donor motivations reminds us to create personalized engagement strategies that resonate in today's donor-centric environment.
Create Compelling Case Statements
- Seymour's framework for articulating organizational mission and impact provides all of us with a timeless structure for modern storytelling.
- His focus on emotional connection through clear, inspiring narratives works across all communication channels in use today.
- His pioneering approach to demonstrating community need and organizational credibility can be seen still in our modern impact reporting and donors’ transparency expectations.
Design Comprehensive Campaign Structures
- His multi-phase campaign model (planning, quiet phase, public phase, follow-through) remains the standard structure for major and comprehensive campaigns of all sizes and scope.
- His emphasis on volunteer leadership and peer-to-peer solicitation translates well to our use of modern peer influence strategies.
- His guidance on campaign timing and momentum building applies to both traditional and digital fundraising efforts.
Adapt Principles to Meet Today’s Campaigns
- Applying his relationship principles to digital engagement and social media.
- Incorporating his case statement approach into multimedia content and data visualization.
- Extending his campaign structures to include multichannel approaches and digital giving days.
- Using data analytics to enhance his prospect research and segmentation recommendations.
At the start the book Si states, “My story begins and ends with people. Every cause, I hope to show, needs people more than money. For when those people are ‘with you’ and are giving your cause attention, interest, confidence, advocacy, and service, financial support should take care of itself.… Whereas without them, you might as well go and get lost.”
As for me, time and again, when an effort seems stuck, fundraising is challenging, and I feel lost, I return to the timeless principles of Si Seymour. His work provides a solid foundation that we can still build upon with new technologies and engagement methods while maintaining the human-centered approach that makes fundraising effective.
Great ideas come from unexpected places. The DBD team is diving into the books, articles, and thought pieces that are shaping our perspective. This month, we're sharing the insights that are challenging our assumptions and inspiring new approaches to common challenges for nonprofits.
