by Opa Owiye, YNPN 2009 Guest Blogger
Opa shares her great notes from the YNPN 2009 Professional Development Workshop: Fundraising in a Tough Economy
Luke Driscoll, Regional VP, CCS Fundraising, Development Services, Strategic Consulting did a great job of giving basic tools for young fundraisers in a tough economy. It seems that there isn’t a secret to fundraising during a difficult economic environment. What he recommended was “thinking inside the box” instead of “thinking outside the box”.
As he put it, the box is there for a reason. In thinking inside the box look at what the best practices are, what’s worked in the past, what’s working now, what’s not working, why it’s not working, and how can we be innovative.
He also gave us a 10 pt. plan for meeting the challenges ahead.
- Reaffirm your organizations’ mission and impact
- Increase activity especially in cultivation and engagement
- Motivate internal leaders that you will remain successful
- Encourage your staff to support each other
- Increase prospecting to expand your potential donor base
- Explore diversification in fundraising
- Introduce gift options
- Using those you know for prospects, expanding network, helping board
- Share the latest philanthropic information to both motivate leadership and temper expectations
- Open new doors to longer term prospect cultivation
Lastly, he reiterated the key traits of a successful fundraiser.
- Belief in the organization and leaders
- Enthusiasm and passion
- Sense of urgency
- Willing to take risks
- Strategic thinker
- Sees opportunities, when others see problems
- Aligns donors/prospects with organization’s needs
So, be encouraged fundraisers! Philanthropy is not a function of the stock market but a function of the gross national product. Philanthropy has never gone down. It has always either gone up or held steady. And, a recent survey by Bank of America showed that majority of people gave simply because they were asked. So, people get out there and ASK!
