Blog

Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit with the rest of my Donor By Design colleagues.

How far will our leadership opportunities take us? Are we really role models and “billboards” for what our organizations stand for? Are we good at communicating why our organization is critical to the health and well-being of our community, especially in the face of opposition or skepticism?

Those of you who have followed my blogs or have attended a presentation I’ve given know that one of my favorite fundraising axioms is Leadership is Everything.

A 2013 documentary directed by Andrew Garrison is hands-down one of the best leadership films I have seen recently.  I doubt that was the director’s intent, but from my perspective he has done just that.

Last week, we started a discussion about what to do when you find your campaign at the bottom of the dip and stalled. There are four key elements to every campaign – case, leadership, prospects and a plan. Today we’ll consider the importance of prospects and a plan.

Rarely does a week go by without a phone call from someone who is tired, frustrated and defeated. They’re worried their campaign is “stalled.” Before you can adequately diagnose the issue with your campaign, you must first have the courage to hit the pause button. Take the time to determine if you need to stop the campaign or simply relaunch. 

I must admit that I am a bit impatient. My patience (or lack there of) has been tested in 2014 as travel delays due to weather (think polar vortex) have been maddening. I can’t wait for spring!

As I travel around the country working with clients, I always emphasize the importance of finding the right volunteer leaders for your fundraising endeavors. These are usually outgoing “ring leaders” whom others rally around. They have a huge impact on campaign success.

Good fundraisers understand the value of asking questions in pursuit of answers. Great fundraisers aren’t satisfied with getting answers; they crave clarity. To understand a potential donor’s true interests, motivations and reservations we need to move beyond simple Q&A, taking the time to understand the deeper meaning behind their responses. To achieve greater clarity, we need to push past their initial response and invite them to share more. A few follow up questions can unlock a wealth of important information.

Happy New Year from all of us at Donor By Design! We hope your first full week of 2014 is off to a great start. This is the final blog in a three part series. In the first blog, I reviewed John Norcross’s suggestions for keeping resolutions from his book Changeology, and Jim Collins’ concept of the 20 Mile March from his book Great By Choice.  In the second blog, I talked about firing bullets before cannonballs, and using SMART goals to assess the effectiveness of your ideas before you take them to a bigger roll-out.