Fundraising & the Future

Thirty years ago (or so), the Fundraising sector had its come to Jesus moment when “the masses” said enough! to the flies on eyes fundraising. There was a collective "oh shoot, we went too far" moment, and a shift happened. Not immediately, but eventually, people got with the script. Fundraising, at least for the masses, over time began to shift. We wrote a new chord sheet most started to sing a new tune. New methods were employed, new styles and a new beat were formed.?

But over time, that song as well has started to sound out of tune. It has gotten noisier, more pitchy, and repetitive. The dials have all been turned up, and up, and up.?

I can’t help but look out 5 or 10 years and wonder if we're going to have another “come to Jesus” moment again. Not yet though; the song is still working for most.?

I am tempted to get specific here, but what this comes down to in my mind is this: if you think out 10 years, and turn the dial up on every tactic you’re employing now to raise money - does the future look better or worse? Do your tactics look more hopeful or desperate?

I think this is the most important work of Fundraising leaders. Asking this question often of ourselves and of our peers. “As we ramp up these tactics, when we hit peak ____ is that a good thing or a bad thing for those we serve, our sector, our donors, and us?”

But how else can we fundraise?

I left my magic wand at home. Otherwise, I’d give it to you.?

I'm sure that's what those photographers thought as they took pictures of the bloated bellies. And I get it. I live in this every day as a CEO of a small but ambitious charity.

I think we either ask this question often and make honest attempts to fail forward or continue until the tactic hits peak ___ and we stumble into the next bloated baby equivalent.

Here is a quick picture of what I’d like to see in 10 years. If you have ideas or want to join me in getting there, ping me, I’d love to hear from you.??

The Simple Charity Pledge:

When we say "Partner," it means to partner.

• You have the same access to the information we do; you get no "extra" treatment, no BS, just truth. We don't indulge; we don't go over the top to treat you like royalty. You're an investor alongside us in this work. We'll work together to determine how this works. Some ideas include: building a Google Drive Folder where we can store all the information we want on our work, creating a Slack Group for regular chat, and having open lines of communication: always.??

Monthly giving or pledge giving only. You can 'try before you buy' (ie make a one-time gift) or talk to us first, of course, but it's a subscription or pledged-based (i.e. annual) model.

• This approach is the most dramatic but the most necessary. To grow a truly sustainable organization, we have to focus only on Monthly or Pledge based giving. We've accepted subscription models as "default," in the for-profit world,? yet it's still optional for charities. This way of doing business is by far the greatest hindrance to sustainability - every month, not knowing what comes in, and having 50% of your annual revenue *hopefully* come in, in December. Don’t worry; you can still top up at year-end :)

Recognition:

• What we do for you in terms of recognition and honour is the same we would do for staff members, board members and beneficiaries. We want to balance being incredibly grateful for your support (because we are) with realizing that everyone is giving to this work in different ways. The 400 volunteers in Uganda giving up their property and time for the water system is giving their only resource, our staff theirs etc. It's a tricky balance.

You can always view our financials - up to the month.

• Every month we'll have a google folder with our Monthly Financial Statements posted and one-page summary with context behind them.

No appeals without context. Because all of our donors will be monthly or pledged-based we wouldn't do "one time" appeals unless the need was urgent and unexpected. We will ask for you to consider increasing your monthly giving to account for inflation annually. Of course, this is just a consideration and we remain grateful for literally every penny that comes in.

• Overhead: It’s neither good nor bad. It just is. Too many organizations swing too far one way or the other. Moderation is key.?

Events:

• We believe in events to build community, increase engagement and grow awareness in our cause. We realize it's a necessary and good function of just being together. We'll be fully transparent about our events, the cost to put them on and what the goal behind it is. No lavish galas to stroke the egos of major donors. If you want your ego stroked - ping me and I’ll feed you compliments for 1 hour for $100.

No Facebook / IG Ads. Minimal Social Media Posting (1x a week), 2X updates a month Emails, No tracking.

• I use FB as a proxy to mean that we're probably not going to be staying up with the latest in social media marketing and advertising. We're limiting our mass updates, our posting and more. This is to focus on what matters most.?