Tough times? Don't give up

Has anyone told you to crawl into a hole and stop raising funds until the recession blows over?

Bad advice.

The most effective reason for raising funds -- the one reason that motivates donors more than anything else -- is needing funds.

So if the economy is causing you to need funds -- either because the demand for your services is up, or donations are down, or both -- you should be confidently, even aggressively, raising funds.

That's what an article in Philanthropy Journal says: Time to ask is now, fundraisers say.

The principles of fundraising remain the same, even during the economic crunch.... One of these is the need for development officers to convince prospects of the importance of the organization's mission.

The economy is rough. It may very well depress your fundraising results. But the worst possible thing you can do is defeat yourself by giving up.

Technorati Tag: recession

Comments

[Jason Dick]

I work for a community college and we are in the middle of a Capital Campaign. We have had tremendous success thus far because we have set the bar high with the donors we are working with. I also think our success can be attributed to doing something completely different for the organization. In these tough times it is important that we find new ways to engage donors in addition to the traditional and every day ways.

[Karen Zapp]

Jeff,

To help my clients during these tougher economic times I’ve been stressing the importance of donor cultivation. Build loyalty and retention through good old fashioned “customer service.” Let’s face it; anyone who does this successfully will stand out. They’ll earn respect and appreciation from their donors.

Why is that important? Because the donors will be more likely to donate; perhaps donate a bit more generously; and be more inclined to stay with your mission instead of another organization who does something similar.

Emails are a very effective and economical tool for donor cultivation. And I recommend emails with absolutely no “ask” of any kind. Just share a success story; share good news about something the donors have helped make possible.

Then add more schmoozing to the direct mail letters. And get those thank you letters out quickly!

Nothing new here, I admit. Just tips worth reiterating along with the value of your recommendation: Keep fundraising! Don’t slow down!

Karen Zapp
Fundraising & Sales Copywriter
http://www.PKscribe.com