The Power of One Hour for Fundraisers and Nonprofit Leaders

Recently I spent one hour with my speaking coach. A power-hour. I’m working on some new speaking topics and keynote talks scheduled for later this spring and summer, and I want to make sure I am as prepared as possible.

I hadn’t done my homework in advance of our meeting, so I nearly canceled. And that would have been a HUGE mistake. We got so much accomplished in a single hour, and I feel significantly more prepared for an upcoming speech than I did prior to that powerful hour.

In one hour with my coach, I went from having a vague idea of what I might speak about to a full outline with stories to boot!

It got me thinking about the power of a single hour…

What You Can Do with Just One Hour

Most fundraisers (most people) complain that there aren’t enough hours in the day. And yet, most people aren’t using the time they have efficiently or consistently.

Here’s what I do with my “power-hours”

Here are some ways I use one hour:

1. Brainstorming with my business advisor — one hour per month.
2. Preparing with my speaking coach — one hour every other week.
3. Writing a blog post — one hour every week.

Let’s look at that last one. Writing a blog post nearly every week for more than a decade is one of the key factors in my business success. Consistency. Every single week. One hour per week (with paid helpers to format and polish the work).

If you combine the above hours (four hours on a blog post, two hours with my speaking coach, and one hour with the business advisor) you’ll note that in seven productive hours per month, I move my capital campaign business forward in unimaginable ways.

For four years, I have met my business advisor for a monthly meeting. I come away with pages of notes and usually at least one “ah-ha” moment. That one moment each month has made the difference between failure and success.

You can write a book in one hour per day

I once read that if you write one page per day, you can write a 365-page book in a year. Makes sense, right?

Think about that for a moment. Most people who dream of writing a book do just that — they dream about it. I’ve written three books. None of my books are anywhere close to 365 pages, and that’s okay.

Here’s the hard part about writing a book — you need to write consistently, whether you feel like it or not. You need to write when the words are flowing and when they’re not. For one hour. Every day.

Do that, and you’ll have your book in less than a year.

What could YOU accomplish in one hour per day?

Think of some powerful things you can do in just one power-hour each day — things that could really move the needle…

• Meet with a donor. Each week, you’ll have met with five donors.
• Call ten donors. Leave messages. Stop after you get one on the phone. That’s upwards of 50 donors per week!
• Empty your inbox. Arrive at the weekend with a zero inbox. Clean up all those loose ends!

Let’s assume you work for seven (or more) hours per day. Three hours should be focused on the tasks above. Then you’ll have the other four plus hours each day to accomplish all your other tasks and activities.

If you follow the above schedule, by the end of the year, you could have met with 250 donors, left 2,500 messages, and kept your inbox at virtually zero.

Just How Powerful is a Single Hour?

At Capital Campaign Pro, most of our clients meet regularly with their campaign advisors twice a month. In only two powerful hours, they move their campaigns forward, step by step.

When we first developed this alternative model to traditional campaign consulting, we weren’t sure it would work. Would two, hour-long meetings be enough? After nearly six years, the answer is a resounding YES!

A single hour each day can move the needle in remarkable ways. What can you accomplish in one hour per day at your nonprofit? Leave a comment below — I’d love to hear your ideas.