Donors vs. dollars is over: in fundraising, participation and pipeline are actually the same thing
There are two “P words” that constantly come up in fundraising work: ‘participation’ and ‘pipeline.’ Our industry sometimes comes down to two groups. Some fundraisers are focused on growing a donor base, total donor count, or in higher education, “alumni participation.” And there are of course fundraisers who say, well, that’s nice, but it’s really about big gifts, so how effectively can we build a pipeline of people who will make a transformative gift, soon?
These two viewpoints are often in opposition, and the two goals (donors vs. dollars) unfortunately fight for resources. It’s understandable. Participation in formal giving has declined, dropping by an estimated 20 million US households between 2000-2016 . And giving to alma mater has been cut in half over the past three decades, and now totals just 8 percent of US alumni. Growing a large, loyal donor base in a formal charity has never been more challenging.
So, it’s not crazy for fundraising leaders to observe: our fundraising campaign success has always been driven by a small number of very generous big givers, and we should go after big gifts. It’s quite accurate to say that if you put more money into people who connect personally with your best mega-giver prospects, you’ll raise more money.
But that’s for today. When we look at real fundraising data, short-term thinking could be disastrous. Consider these facts:
If you’re just focused on the quick big wins, you’re not only ignoring the data, you’re treating major donors like a vending machine. And they are not. They are real people, who you are building trust with, co-writing an impact story with, and engaging.
When we asked fundraisers what one word describes their major and planned giving donors, they said things like: engaged, aware, educated. These things take time, and giving is a big part of the engagement process.
The results of the next Advancement Leaders Speak survey will be out in a few weeks, and what fundraisers want is more time engaging their biggest givers.
So, when we realize that participation and pipeline aren’t in opposition, it’s time to change some of the basic cultures of advancement work. As I said in a webinar today , we largely operate donor engagement efforts in silos. We have digital giving teams, we have giving day teams, we have annual giving, we have major gifts, we have planned giving. And they don't always talk real well.
That’s not a smart strategy, and it’s time to start breaking down silos, and instead, start operating like a symphony that works together, that provides an integrated, melodious story to donors.
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Fundraising shouldn't be about operating donor outreach in silos. It should be about providing a symphony of engagement to donors. (I've heard that a symphony requires communication and integration.)
Key steps to make participation and pipeline part of your core donor engagement strategy
Here are a few immediate things we can all do to bring participation and pipeline together:
It's time to change the way we think about donor engagement
These are some tactical tips, but it might come down to how we actually think about advancement work. It’s time to stop creating either/or scenarios that are just not based in data. It’s time to get smarter about donor count vs. major gifts. To pull the famous quote from one of my favorite authors, F. Scott Fitzgerald , “…the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” ?
It’s time to do both participation and pipeline. Because donors and dollars are the same thing. And they always have been.
The data-based fundraising reality is that ‘participation’ and ‘major gifts pipeline’ are not opposed. They’re part of the same donor journey. We all need to carefully use our scarce resources. However, operating these two key fundraising goals in silos or viewing them in opposition is just plain destructive. It also makes a crappy donor experience.
They key point: Investing in participation, when done smartly and with an expansive definition, is the basis of an effective major gifts pipeline strategy. Also, major gifts can fuel the impact, community-building and transformation stories that help drive participation. These two "P"s work together, and it’s time to stop treating them as if they are in competition.
How are you managing donors vs. dollars? Have you come up with smart ways to meet these two key goals? Drop a comment here or get in touch, I’d love to hear your perspective.