The mistake that could be hurting your fundraising

If your fundraising is struggling — not getting the results it should, not doing as well as it did in the past — there’s a good chance it’s because it makes one of the most common errors out there: It’s about your organization, not the people you hope will give.

Doing this is hard to avoid. It’s incredibly tempting. But it flattens response.

Because it’s irrelevant.

Not that your organization is irrelevant. But the topic of your organization’s excellence and past success is irrelevant to someone deciding whether or not to give now.

Because the decision they are making is not whether you are great enough to give to. It’s whether a donation to you accomplishes what they want to accomplish.

Check out this helpful post on the Veritus Blog: It’s Not About You.

In fundraising, it is always about the prospect or donor (individual or institution) and their needs. They have a set of interests and passions. They have a vision for what they would like to do on the planet with their resources. Good fundraising is about understanding the prospect and donor. It means being curious and listening. It means being focused on them and not yourself.

It’s a given that you are expert about your cause and your organization. It’s also a given that your organization is focused on excellence.

But you also need to be an expert on your donors — who they are, what values they share with you, what they understand (and don’t understand.

Giving is their decision. It happens in their hearts and minds. That’s why you need to enter their world and speak to them.

Not to yourself.