2024 — A Year to Make Things Happen

We’re deep into annual planning for our client partners — it’s one of my favorite times of the year. But this year feels different. Weightier maybe. We’ve come off the COVID highs. And while many expected a reset to “normal” (whatever that means), the world has shifted dramatically, and the reset button some might have hoped for has not been pushed. The work of raising funds for the ministries and organizations we care about has become increasingly challenging.

So, why has fundraising gotten so hard? We might start with an evolving landscape, resource constraints, declines in donor acquisition, diversifying revenue streams, online fundraising, data management, major gifts, technology, storytelling, impact measurement, adaptability, global trends, organizational challenges, decreases in giving, inflation, and trust issues. Just to name a few.

Are we all feeling sufficiently overwhelmed, wishing, perhaps, for that reset button? But there is no such button. And for those who claim Christ, we know that we are called to move forward into what is ahead, not looking and longing for the things of the past.

And so, we approach the year ahead, perhaps with a bit of trepidation but maybe with more excitement. Things are changing fast. So here’s what I’m thinking:

You can’t find lost time. (Or as Benjamin Franklin put it, “You may delay, but time will not.”)

2024 is not a year to see what happens, it's a year to make things happen. To plan purposefully looking 5, 10 years down the road.

With that in mind, here are four questions to ask as you head into your planning season:

1. Is your organization committed to diversifying fundraising channels and pushing further into new(er) channels like CTV, text, ringless, digital media, and email for both engaging with current partners and finding new supporters?
2. Does your tech stack enable you to personalize your supporter’s experience with your brand, know who they are, and how they engage with you?
3. What are you willing to invest in the year ahead? It’s an exciting time, and 2024 can be the year that your organization lays the groundwork for growth, but it’s not without cost and maybe a little risk.
4. How can you consistently share amazing outcomes? Storytelling, yes — but more — the Donor Trust Report found that the most important signal to assess the trustworthiness of a charity was accomplishments shared by the organization. Share your successes, and don’t be shy about the good you are doing in the world.

I’m excited about 2024. And the things we’ll learn from it. I have a feeling we’ll be doing a lot of new things. Some will work. Some won’t. And that’s ok. One thing I know for sure, though, it’s not a time to do the same thing. To take the same path as before. It’s a time to acknowledge and celebrate the supporters who have and continue to give faithfully of their time, talent, and treasure to the work of your ministry. It’s also a time to reach out and engage with a new generation of givers, inviting them to share in the work being done, recognizing that they have different passions and motivations (and they probably don’t have a checkbook).

It’s a season full of anticipation. We’ll face choices and start down new paths. As I think about the year ahead, I can’t help but recall the words of Robert Frost written over 100 years ago:

…Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Are you excited about starting down a new path for engaging donors and partners in 2024 and beyond? I’d be thrilled to talk with you about how Masterworks can help you do just that!