Clay Myers-Bowman

(Note: this is not meant to criticize either my fundraising consulting colleagues who provide wonderful support and advice to their clients, the fundraisers I know who are trying hard to raise more money, or the nonprofits who are trying to advance their missions. This is for organizations and projects that keep looking for the latest and greatest shortcut to raise more money.)

A successful fundraising strategy looks like this:

1. Make a list of prospective donors.
2. Start at the top of the list and personally invite each one to make a gift.
3. Thank the people who make a gift AND the ones that don’t.
4. Go back to #1 and repeat.

Over-simplified? Yes. On purpose. But it’s the basic framework for building relationships that last. Stop trying to find a shortcut or a a way to keep from meeting with your donors face-to-face. It won’t work. Promise.

If you want to significantly advance your mission (you do don’t you?) you have to engage more people in PERSONAL ways. Not through personalized (read my post on this here) or gimmicky products and methods. It’s something I learned decades ago and is still true today.

Be brave, step outside your comfort zone, get out from behind the desk, and talk to your donors face-to-face. Simple as that.

How do you motivate yourself to get out of your office chair?