Diagnosing the Lackluster Campaign

Recently a small nonprofit kicked off its first major gift campaign. The board was new to fundraising and the group had not conducted any kind of planning study, but, a matching grant opportunity made it necessary to bypass some of the more traditional campaign development process and jump in with both feet.

The case was compelling, and the fundraising objective was modest. But after months, the board and other volunteers were not making the calls on prospective donors they’d promised. Meeting after meeting would be about reviewing the same assignments and strategy over and over again.

There are a number of reasons why a volunteer fails to call on prospective donors as assigned:

 

I think this is a great idea …. for YOU – A lack of commitment from each individual involved in the campaign will undermine its integrity.

Make it clear at the outset that all board members and everyone making calls must have made, or be considering their own commitment first. Encourage each board member to ask another, starting with the executive committee and continuing from there to the front line fundraisers. Present this as an opportunity to practice sharing the case and making an actual ask. Give this effort a reporting deadline. Boards traditionally give between 10 and 20 percent of the total campaign goal. A successful board campaign can infuse your campaign with momentum and excitement. The lack of one can cast doubt – both internally and externally – on its validity.

Ooof, that was too big a bite – A volunteer fundraiser’s taking on too much at the outset can lead to little or no activity at all.

After compiling an initial contact list, help your volunteer pair it down to the top three calls for the short term.  Prioritize contacts based upon the strength of the personal connection, the strength of the connection to the organization, and the ability to give. A large pool of fundraisers making incremental progress can make for a lively, energetic campaign. A small group, each faced with monumental tasks is a recipe for burnout.

I’m all over it, just need one more, teeny thing … Perfection paralysis can stymie a novice fundraiser.

Testing your case is a legitimate process in the development of a campaign, and sharing a draft of your story with someone friendly to the cause offers the opportunity not only to perfect the message, but for the person making the call to become familiar with it. At some point you benefit from going with what you have on a campaign and having a fresh set of eyes on it. If you have a volunteer who is reluctant because everything isn’t “perfect” it may be that she’s unfamiliar with the case or the process. Pair her up on a call with someone more experienced. Keep doing so until she has the confidence in herself and the materials perhaps even to mentor someone else.

I’m not lost, I just don’t know where we’re going – Your volunteers need a GPS.

Understaffed campaigns suffer from the lack of a central source of information and record keeping. Fundraising requires your volunteers to leverage their clout and good standing in the community on your behalf. If they feel there’s too much of a risk of looking foolish for having done so, they won’t. Information about the campaign and the prospects can bolster confidence. Who has called on this person? Where are we in our fundraising goal? Help your volunteers look good by giving them access to information. Designate a person responsible for tracking information, names and deadlines, and to whom your fundraising team reports to. This person in turn is a good person to return to for reminders on strategy, or the “road map” that’s already been developed for a particular prospect.

Every campaign experiences ebbs and flows in momentum. Throughout it all, it is important that the visionary leader of the organization and others maintain an unfailingly up-beat attitude. Just as the converse is true, a positive attitude can be contagious. People back a winning team. Allow your volunteers opportunities to share their successes, no matter how small, and they’ll spread their enthusiasm to others. Their positive feelings will be reinforced as they spread, and help build momentum in your campaign.

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