Once upon a time there was a handful of people who felt passionate about a cause. They felt so passionate that they each put in funds and time to create a non-profit organization to meet a community need. Jump ahead years or even decades later and the organization may have different players. It may even have grown and become a complex organizational machine. But, as far as a fundraiser is concerned, there is still an inner core of people who can see the need and respond without being asked.
This central core of our organization is what I call our family. Typically, this core is made up of board members, management and major donors, as described in Russo’s Concentric Circle. The family is what bind us together and keeps the organization going. It is not suitable if our board and management are on the outside of the core, expecting donors to carry the weight of raising funds.
These are the people that have the ABC’s – the Ability to give (or find a way to give), the Belief in the organization and the Contact or relationship with the organization and most importantly, trust in the leadership. Why would we donate significantly if we don’t know or trust who is running the show?
As we move further from the core of the organization fundraising we are now talking to our friends. We need strategies to communicate with them and tell them about our needs, but once the case for support is explained, they will donate.
The further we move to the outside of the circle, the weaker the ABC links and the invitation to make a difference naturally transforms to an exercise in persuasion – a sales job.
It also becomes less efficient to raise funds. More advertising, staff resources, and tools are required. It is for this reason that when we need to create a campaign to raise funds the most effective approach to identify prospective donors is to first look to our existing inner core. They already are well-versed on the cause and obviously believe in it.
When I have asked my classes how there organization would raise $25,000 in a week they have often said they would advertise in traditional (and now social media). That takes time and money and you can’t be guaranteed that you are talking to your family or even your friends. You are trying to persuade and ‘sell’ the need.
We may be naturally drawn to the outside of the circle first because for many people it is easier to advertise and be arms length from the potential donor, than to sit down with someone, face to face, and tell the story of the need. We have all sorts of notions about the negativity of asking for funds.
Or, perhaps it is a perception that a story or advertisement will be exposed to so many people that the money will just flow in. First, that is a gamble. Second, you would have to spend a lot of money to design the advertising campaign for it to actually to create a return.
There may be a time and place for advertising in a fundraising campaign. For example, after you have campaigned with all the other ‘rings’ of constituents in Russo’s Concentric Circle. Or, if you are a start-up organization with an urgency to raise a lot of funds quickly, like the www.savemarylake.com social media campaign.
The first stage of the fundraising cycle is to Identify our Prospects. Next, we will talk about the cultivation process.
Showing you the way.
