Earlier this week I spoke at BloomCon, Bloomerang’s annual conference. I focused much of my talk on how to stay on track with raising major gifts — perhaps the most critical thing you must do.
Staying on track with raising major gifts is hard. It’s not your fault that you have 100 deadlines coming at you, ten “top” priorities pulling you in ten different directions, not enough staff, not enough resources, pressure from the board expecting you to raise money NOW! The list goes on and on.
That being said, I’m convinced if you could find a way to be consistent with time you devote to raising major gifts, you’ll have more success.
Raising Major Gifts Requires Consistency
Raising major gifts is about consistency, constancy and regularity. Major gift fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve got to be in it for the long haul and stay the course.
There are no deadlines.
Major gift fundraising is one of the only types of fundraising that isn’t deadline driven.
Think about it…
- Grants – have deadlines!
- Events – have deadlines!
- Direct mail – has deadlines (if you want to get them out in time for year-end giving, anyway)!
- Online Fundraising, Giving Tuesday – deadlines!
- Capital campaigns – deadlines! (time-related goals assuming you want to get that building built this century)!
But when raising major gifts, no donor is sitting by the phone waiting for you to call. That means it’s up to you to keep major gifts at the top of your priority list.
However, it’s so easy for major gift fundraising to slip to the bottom of a long “to do” list, especially if you’re constantly running from deadline to deadline.
3 Things You Can Do to Stay on Track
Here are the three topics I discussed in my talk to help you stay on track with raising major gifts:
- Think Happy thoughts
- Stay focused
- Build better habits
Let’s look closer at all three — there’s more to them than meets the eye.
1. Think Happy Thoughts
Many studies have shown that meaningful work, productivity, and happiness, are all interconnected. And while it’s not realistic that you’ll be happy at work all the time, it’s important that you’re happy at work whenever possible.
After all, you got into this line of work because you want to make an impact and change the world. If you weren’t in it for intrinsic value (aka “happiness”), which is inherent in the work we do, you’d be off making more money in the corporate sector. So if you’re truly unhappy at work, you’re probably in the wrong job.
However, there are simple things you can do to improve the quality of your work life right now. Here are three to start you off.
- Smile at your co-workers more often. Smiling is the universal language of friendliness. When you smile at someone, they will simile back. It’s a chain reaction.
- Have a one-person dance party. Before you pick up the phone and call a donor, close the door (or put on some headphones) and blast your favorite song for 2 minutes.
- Change your mindset. Assume the donor will pick up the phone, will be happy to hear from you, and will want to meet. Instead of asking, “do you want to meet?” ask “when can we meet?”
There’s a whole bunch of things you can do to improve your state of happiness while on (and off) the job. Check out my free download, 31 Rules for Better Fundraising and a Better You.
2. Stay Focused
Staying focused and on track with raising major gifts can be challenging, especially when you have other responsibilities pulling you in several directions. Here are three tips to help you stay on track:
- Shorten your list of prospects. Focus on a few donors at a time, rather than dozens or even hundreds.
- Have a weekly accountability meeting. Include key staff and board members. Keep the meeting to ten minutes and stick to two agenda items — what did we do this week to raise major gifts (and what follow up needs to be done) and what will we do next week to raise major gifts (and who is responsible). This will help keep everyone on track, as well as keep your major gift program a priority.
- Block time to focus on major gifts (and not Friday afternoon). One hour each morning is best. Block the time and don’t answer emails or accept any interruptions during that time. Keep yourself focused!
3. Build Better Habits
Habits are things we do without thinking about them. Habits that affect your ability to raise major gifts can be good and bad.
Bad work habits include checking email constantly, posting to social media throughout the day, and procrastinating on the internet. These bad work habits keep you from getting out and meeting with donors. Schedule time to respond to email and post to social media, rather than constantly checking throughout the day.
You should also get into a good habit — call donors on a daily basis. Did you know that if you called one donor per day, you’d make approximately 225 donor calls throughout the year?
There are many reasons to call your donors, including:
- To say thank you
- To provide an update
- Ask for advice
- Invite for a tour
- Provide a volunteer opportunity
- Schedule a meeting
- Ask for a gift (to join your monthly giving club)
Happiness, focus and positive habits all impact your ability to raise major gifts. Let me know how you stay on track and what makes it hard to stay on track. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments.
If you think your group might benefit from this keynote talk, I’d be happy to speak for your organization — learn more here.
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