A Small Change- Fundraising Blog

What is the point of donor prospecting? Most often we do it because we think that with donor research an incredibly wealthy donor is going to appear out of thin air. Then we are going to asking him for a big gift based on what we learned about him and it’s going to change the life of our non-profit. But, that’s not really how it works.

I’ve often found that non-profits rarely have big gifts that fall out of the sky, most of the time they come after years of cultivation. Why would it be any different after donor prospecting? I think we need to changing our mind on donor prospecting and get back to a focus on the donor. Fundraising is about relationship and unless we start there donor prospecting does not help. We need to spend time listening to what our donors are saying about themselves & their interests. If you do that then donor prospecting helps you fill in the gaps.

Prospect Research can be a really useful tool for finding information about existing donors and can bring an organization to the next level. It is important that we have the right mindset. Prospect Research is not the answer for your organization—good fundraising is. Donor research can help and a great way to start is by asking your donors questions. I will be writing an article in a couple weeks about what kinds of questions and conversations will help you in your donor research. If you want more information on how to research your donors check out a previous article I wrote, “Prospecting New and Existing Donors.”

What keeps you fundraising? Why do you do it? Non-profit fund development is an interesting and growing field. There are many exciting new things happening in the world of fundraising today. But it can be a hard job. You spend months and years cultivating relationships with individuals and businesses, often times receiving a number of “no” responses from funders. So what is it that keeps you going?

I have a number of friends that are Executive Directors of small non-profits and have had numerous conversations with them about fundraising. One of the major questions with newer and smaller non-profits seems to be, “Where is the funding going to come from (how are we going to pay our staff, fund the next trip, feed a hungry family, etc)?” Fundraising provides financial freedom for a non-profit to pursue their mission. That is one reason that keeps me going. We provide skilled social workers, artists, composers, missionaries the money they need to do the work that they are good at.

Many fundraisers keep doing what they are doing out of a sense of purpose or meaning they find in their work. You are making a real difference. Fundraisers are not just selling widgets or a product but raising money to change peoples lives. I like to think of myself as a social entrepreneur. This sense of meaning often translates to a specific cause that they are serving (social change, the arts community, literacy, etc.) Many fundraisers continue to do what they do because they really strongly believe in the mission of their organization and see the tangible benefit to what they are doing.

Why do you raise money? What keeps you going? Write a comment below and share your story. The Ideas, Questions, and Answers page has undergone a remodel. I am starting to have a decent response from non-profit fundraisers with questions and I am not able to answer everything so I need your help. If you are willing to help answer questions, look at a case or business model and provide some words of advice visit the Ideas, Questions, and Answers page.