Are you making this common fundraising mistake?

“That well is dry. Don’t waste your time there. His business is too connected to the oil industry and no one’s making any money there right now. He hasn't responded to our calls in months.”

????

I was a brand new development officer, and this was the response from my boss when I told him I was headed out to have lunch with a couple who, despite having given $5-$10k per year for several years, had not made a gift in the last two years.

I already had the appointment, and it would’ve been rude not to show up so I made the 45-minute drive from our office to the small town where they lived anyway.

If their situation was as dire as he suspected, maybe I could pick up the tab for lunch and help them out.

?????

We met at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and the place was packed.

It probably took us nine minutes to walk to our table because they stopped and talked to nearly everyone in the restaurant.

We finally sat down and the husband looked at me, then at his wife, and then back at me.

“This is her passion. I've told multiple people over there that before, but everyone keeps calling and wanting to talk to me. The only reason we’re here is because you invited us BOTH to lunch. Talk to her.”

And talk to her I did.

The only person paying attention to him for the next half hour was our waiter, who had clearly benefited from this couple’s generous tipping before.

She told me all about her connection to the cause - how much it broke her heart to know that moms were losing their children because dirty water was making them sick. She told me how, if she were in the same situation that she would stop at nothing to get her kids the help they needed.

We did not talk about our programs or our unique solution. There was no discussion of impact numbers.

We just talked about the moms and kids impacted by dirty water.

That’s not entirely true. WE didn’t talk.?

She talked. Her husband and I just listened.

As we were wrapping up, he asked the waiter to bring our check as well as the check for one of the tables we stopped and visited on our way in.

I guess they didn’t need me to buy their lunch after all.

He paid the bill, looked at me again, and said, “If you ever need anything, you call Joy. This is really important to her.”

I thanked them for their generosity and for lunch, walked out, and smiled the entire 45-minute drive back to our office.

Within 6 months, I had a new boss and had been promoted to Director of Development.

And this couple? The dry well?

Their giving tripled over the next year.?

Draw your own conclusions about how this story might apply to your situation.

Me?

I never made another appointment again with a giver who was married without inviting BOTH spouses.

Oh yeah... just one more thing.

Make sure you keep visiting those dry wells.?

You never know when you might find one that still has water.?

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