This is not my usual blog. I have managed to go a few months now and not written anything except comedy. As some of you know, along with being a fundraising consultant and coach, I decided to become a stand-up comedian. It has been very time consuming and challenging. It has also been quite the learning experience. And yes, I did go to comedy school and read The Comedy Bible. I have continued with my nonprofit consulting practice as that is what always resonates in my soul. Some client work this week shook me up a bit and I realized that I needed to speak up with a few reminders.
We are just a few short weeks out of what is called "fundraising season." I keep hearing words like "donor fatigue" and "challenging." So when has fundraising not been challenging? Maybe the ice bucket challenge? That was so out-of-the-box. I am going to suggest -- I thing this is my song -- get your house in order.
Have the gift acceptance guidelines reviewed -- will you accept cryptocurrency? Does your gratitude policy really express timely appreciation? Clean up your database so your information actually gets to the donor's mail box and/or email. Run a few analytics to make certain your year end strategies are in alignment with real data. And finally get your staff and board onboard to implement the strategies. Fundraising is a team sport. If you don't do these few things now, Giving Tuesday will not save you.
Have a little fun along the journey -- as my friend Anders Berg says, "Laughter Matters." You can follow some of my comedy antics by friending me on Facebook or connecting on LinkedIn.
Comments