It’s true that fundraising is ultimately about drumming up funds for the work of our nonprofit.
But if that’s how you think about it, your fundraising will tend to be focused on the work your nonprofit performs. This results in boring fundraising that talks about the organization, its programs, and all the people they have helped in the past.
A better way to think about your fundraising is that you are giving donors a way to change the world.
That’s because, as a rule, the humans reading an e-appeal or a newsletter are more likely to be interested in what’s going on in the world right now and how they can change it, than they are in your programs or things you’ve done in the past.
So instead of creating fundraising that talks about your work, create fundraising that talks about what’s going on in the world right now and how a donor’s gift will change that.
Now you’re providing a service to donors, not just asking them to fund your programs. And people like being served, so more people will give. And behind the reframe you’ll be drumming up plenty of funding for your work.
Remember the line in Jerry Maguire, “Help me help you”?
The nonprofit fundraising version of that is longer and goes something like this: help your donors achieve their goals and they’ll help you achieve yours.
Steven Screen is Co-Founder of The Better Fundraising Company and lead author of its blog. With over 30 years' fundraising experience, he gets energized by helping organizations understand how they can raise more money. He’s a second-generation fundraiser, a past winner of the Direct Mail Package of the Year, and data-driven.
- Steven Screen
- Steven Screen
- Steven Screen
- Steven Screen
