The best way to get donors excited about you is to get them as close to the mission as they can get. So instead of “donor cultivation” events, invite them to things you already do.
If you are a community theater, invite your biggest donors (or those you’re targeting to move up) to the cast party. They’ll love it, and if it’s not more than a handful, the cast and crew probably wouldn’t mind either. If you protect a river or lake, get them out on the river or lake on a beautiful summer day and show them what you’re protecting. If your team dons SCUBA gear to check out how a marine habitat is doing, then invite a donor to go with you! (Obvious note: SCUBA diving should not be taken lightly. But even just the offer alone could excite a donor so much that they’ll go get certified. Or maybe they’ll just love you for inviting them.)
If you provide a direct service service, like a shelter for the homeless, this gets a little trickier. Donors are often donors because they don’t want to volunteer “on the front lines” (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that). But there are still ways where you can show them what you do in a setting where they feel comfortable.
These are all really great ways to mix fundraising with the active pursuit of your mission.
But DON’T turn your program people into fundraisers. I have had a program coordinator for a non-profit tell me that he was responsible for raising half his salary. This is an awful place to put your staff. First, they probably don’t know the right way to raise money. Second, they’ll be walking all over your donors or your foundations with way too much urgency and desperation. And third, they’ll be miserable.
He had been allotted 20% of his time for fundraising. Think what he could have done with that time if it had just been phrased a little differently.
“Jack,” his Executive Director says, [we’ll pretend this program worker’s name is Jack and we’ll pretend he works for a land trust], “our budget has gotten really tight and our annual fund is down. I don’t want to lose any ground. So here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to need you to carve out 8 hours a week to help me with fundraising. I’ve scheduled tours of the riverfront property with our donors. I’d like you there to answer all their questions and to tell them why this particular bend in the river is so important to salmon. I could do it, but I want to show off how much you love this place and how beautiful it can be through the eyes of an experienced naturalist. You don’t need to worry about asking for money, that’s for me and the board to do. You just need to help me show our donors what we do.”
Of course, there is a lot more Jack could do that would help his ED raise money. He could start Twittering or blogging about his work and his passion for it. He could give a class on salmon spawning to interested donors. He could do basic data entry one day a week to pitch in. His ED should know his strengths and know where he could best be used to help the fundraising effort.
But he shouldn’t be given “the responsibility to raise half his salary.” It’s bad mojo. It disrespects Jack, his work will suffer, but the biggest long-term problem is that it disrespects the donors, who are suddenly being asked for money too soon, from the wrong person, at the wrong time, or repeatedly, and just get tired of your non-profit all together.
