A ten-week series on things you should know about fundraising.
Fundraising is a relationship, not a transaction.
We track success of fundraising campaigns by transactions (donations). That’s why it’s easy to forget that those transactions don’t just happen.
Every donation is the result of a connection between donors and the nonprofit. This is why getting a first-time donation is so difficult, and why the majority of first-time donors never give again.
No relationship.
Fundraising becomes profitable from repeat giving. And repeat giving comes from a relationship between the door and the nonprofit.
Relationships are reciprocal. Both sides benefit.
Our ways of reciprocating:
- Thanking donors: promptly, and with emotion.
- Reporting back on the impact of their giving on a regular basis.
- Listening to them, inviting their thoughts, making it easy for them to communicate.
- Asking them in ways that are relevant to them.
Relationship fundraising is the way to get the revenue you need.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com.
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