We are human, and unless we have the will to stay focused and work a plan and allow someone to hold us accountable, we stumble and get off track. It doesn’t matter that you have great donors or incredible plans, touchpoints and offers… if you don’t execute them and stay with it, you won’t succeed.
Organizations that are donor-centered and honoring of their people are successful. Those just going after the money are the ones hanging by a thread.
Non-profits whose leaders understand donors as part of their mission will thrive in the coming decades. Those that don’t will struggle to be relevant.
Here are some ideas on how you can show the impact of a donor’s gift and create incredible joy for your donors:
If you lose sight of what major gift fundraising is all about – RELATIONSHIPS – you lose, period.
How do you build lifelong relationships with donors? Here are some practical ideas – if you start on these now, you will reap large amounts of revenue in the future.
You can’t rush the process of understanding a donor’s passions and interests. Even if you are at a place where you know this about a donor, that doesn’t mean you’re done cultivating that relationship.
Sometimes you have to say “no” to a donor or a funder. Hopefully not very often, but as Richard always says, “a no can lead to a yes.”
If you want to be a great major gift officer, you have to understand that it will never be a clean, clear, everything-is-in-order type of job. It’s messy. You have to embrace it.
What do you do when your nonprofit leader is uncomfortable talking to, cultivating and soliciting donors? Here are some ways to help your CEO or ED not only get comfortable, but succeed in major gifts.
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