Just about every single month, I receive an emergency phone call from an executive director that is short their budgeted goal for a project or program.
The organizations that call us often have something in common: a leadership team that hasn’t had a disciplined approach to cultivating relationships with their major donors. So when it was time for those organizations to ask their major donors for financial help . . . their donors weren’t inclined to help.
What does that mean for you? It means that TODAY is the day you need to reach out to your top active donors and donor prospects. Right now, pick up the phone and give them a call. This very minute, pick up a pen and write them a thank you note. Sometime this week ask a donor to lunch.
Then, make sure you have a disciplined system that keeps you in touch with them as often as they would like – which is usually more often than you think. Especially if you are good about Thanking and Reporting back to them on the effects of their previous gifts.
But for now, make the time to connect with your top donors. By taking the time to connect with your donors, you not only will build great mission-driven friendships, your donors will be ready to give when asked.