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Fundraising is a lot like yoga. If it hurts, you are probably doing it wrong.

Recently, I was speaking with a close friend who made a bad hire when filling a development position.  "I ultimately went with someone I know, not someone who knew."

This year as a Christmas present, my incredible in-laws made a donation to provide tuition to students in Tanzania. The generous gift will pay for 20 children to attend school for the next year. I can only imagine the happiness felt by the children who received this gift.  

In November, I achieved a personal goal of running my seventh half marathon.  I had not run a long distance in a few years; and, I am admittedly a few years older. Training and preparation are very important for any long-distance challenge. With a very busy schedule, I was concerned about having enough time to train. 

Like me, you may be hearing a lot of chatter about our economy. We have experienced significant economic prosperity over the past years. Is our economy headed for a slow down? Who knows?

When you get a chance to speak with a donor, one of the most important things you can do is to listen. Because when you do, you’ll realize that the answer to one question can take your conversation in a whole new direction.

Recently, I met with a client to prepare for a feasibility study. We were reviewing a list of potential key community leaders to interview as part of the study. As we assessed each of the potential study participants (rating them based on their potential interest, access, influence and affluence), it became clear that each person identified was a big fan of the organization and most had also been recent donors. Great, right?

A fairly common concern among nonprofit directors is that their board members won’t participate in fundraising efforts.  Some board members may claim they weren’t told they were expected to ask for contributions when they joined the board.  Others might say they don’t like to impose on their friends (or they want to avoid their friends coming back to them asking for money for their favorite charity). And still others promise they will help but never follow through.

Often non-profit leaders get caught up in anxiously telling donors “everything.” They blurt out stats about programs and stories. They hasten to show impact and community need. As non-profit staff and volunteers, they have great pride in the mission so it’s easy for them to go on and on about what’s happening with the organization.