Bring your donors ideas, not needs.

You know the adage, people give to people. True, but a slight edit is particularly useful in fundraising planning... people give to people with ideas.

Every institution has needs. Lots of them. And a lot of those needs are similar to those of other organizations.

Needs aren't a differentiator, but your ideas can be.

For nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations aspirations tend to outpace the budget, so there is always a need for more funding... but that's not really the donor's problem, is it?

They may be motivated to pay attention, or even give, because they trust your people, but if you are to really compete for their attention, their time, their philanthropic support, you need an advantage. You need ideas. This isn't necessarily about the "big ideas" that have been the trend of late (and will be the topic of a future post).

We need to think about the donor as a partner in solving a problem bigger than the budget gap.

What can you accomplish together faster, or more broadly, if they step forward? How do you articulate the impact of your ideas (how is the world, someone's life, better because of them)? And, what is at stake if we don't secure those funds (which leads to the question, is anything actually at stake?).

This is not to say that the financial pressures that manifest themselves in needs aren't real. You do need funds to recruit and retain great people. You do need funds to solve for equity gaps. You can serve your mission more fully with more or better space. It is, however, a call to make sure that, as you consider making the case for philanthropic support, you only come forward with needs that are opportunities to invest in an idea, with you, the people they trust.