How to build trust and raise more money

Do donors want their gifts to cover your light bills? Staff salaries? Office supplies?

The short answer is no. Donors want to make your core work happen. The boring stuff that makes the work possible just isn’t exciting. Many foundations that fund nonprofit work are the worst, refusing to ever fund “overhead.”

And it hardly helps that some charity watchdogs and media monitor “overhead” expenses and uniformly label it as something like waste.

There’s a powerful argument for overhead costs: It makes the “real” work possible and it’s what brings in additional funding for the “real” work.

There’s just one problem with that: “Arguing” gets you nowhere in fundraising. Your case is pretty much moot unless it’s an emotional case.

There’s one away around this: Trust.

When a donor trusts you, they’re not going to have a problem with some of their giving going to overhead costs. Because understand overhead is a necessary part of the work, and believe you’re spending every dollar wisely.

How do you build trust? Here are some thoughts:

• Prompt donation acknowledgements.
• Be trustworthy. It’s not just about appearances; it’s about what you actually do.
• Consistently report back on the results of donors’ giving.
• The “where needed most” option on reply devices, which puts the trust decision in donors’ hands.
• Make it easy for donors to see your financial reporting. And in your reporting, be sure to identify the value of your overhead spending.

Put building donor trust at the center of your thinking. It’ll pay off, both in getting you the overhead funding you need, and in overall results.