With donations down, we are all looking for the next good idea. I have it.
Since donations are down, something is broken. If it is broken, fix it. Avoid at all costs the temptation to reinvent it.
One of the oldest adages is “A penny for your thoughts.” Even with inflation over the years, the price is still appropriate.
I have provided consulting services to nonprofits for almost 10 years. I have seen many nonprofits pay more than a penny for a good idea. Every one of them paid too much.
How many good ideas has someone shared with the fund development department this week? Have you heard 10 good ideas this week? How many of them are worth more than a penny?
An idea, a plan, or a consultant is only worth what they produce. A good idea produces nothing of value. Putting the good idea to work may produce something. Will that something be worth more than a penny? Is this the year to take a risk and find out?
The next time someone comes in your office with a good idea tell him or her to show you. Give them 10% of the donor base to try the idea out on. If it produces better results than the last appeal to that same group then it is a good idea that works. Give them a penny and hire them to implement the idea on the rest of the donor base.
If they are unwilling or unable to implement the idea, move on. The economy is tight, fundraising is going to be difficult this year, and risking any energy on an unproven idea is unwarranted. This is the year to stick with the tried and true.
We all like new fresh ideas. Remember, Edison ran over 2000 experiments looking for the right filament for the light bulb. New, fresh ideas take time to find. Some other year would be a better one to test new ideas. Let someone else do the testing this year, if it is important.
In a tough environment, it is tempting to try the miracle cure. Five years ago, the miracle cure for home ownership was a subprime loan. Does your fundraising really need a miracle or just hard work?
This is the year to focus on polishing the appeal. Sharpen the words. Improve the graphics. Enliven the emotions. Strengthen the logic. Personalize the message. See the two previous articles (the first and the second) for specifics on how to polish the process.
Avoid change. The risk of failure is high and the opportunity to recover this year is low.
Stick with what works. It will produce less than last year but it is very likely to work better than the new and unproven. We all hate it when someone says, “We have never done it that way.” This is the year to adopt that phrase. It is another way of saying, “That is unproven. The risk of trying the unproven this year is too high.” Next year I hope to be telling you to try new things.
If you need more money this year and you are afraid that the current donor base will leave you under funded, enlarge the donor base. Grow the donor base by 14% if you want a 7% increase in donations.
In short, make the donor base bigger rather than making a change.
