Three Essential Elements of a Successful Fundraising Campaign: Element #2: Relationships

Anything worth doing is worth doing well and to the very best of your ability. Embarking on a fundraising campaign is no exception. Your organization’s mission and the people you serve depend on it!

In this series of blogs, we are looking at the three essentials of successful fundraising campaigns. Two weeks ago, we looked at the campaign’s purpose. This week we are taking a deep dive into building relationships, and in a few weeks, we will be looking at how to use time as your ally.

(Click on the above image to watch a short video on the 3 Essential Elements in any Successful Fundraising Campaign.)

Let’s look at Essential Element #2: developing deep and committed relationships to your cause.

A little over a year ago, several of us at Design Group International began working with a college that has an awesome educational and environmental mission, which they tackle with an innovative approach. They are growing and in need of capital for expansion.

After meeting with the president, board chair, and chief advancement officer, it became clear that they had several key donors who had given significantly over the past several years. However, the list of donors faded rather quickly beyond those few names.

Over the next few months, together we began building lists of prospective donors for the college’s leadership to begin building a relationship with. These lists were founded on the premise of how to build an authentic relationship. (click here to read 3 Steps to Building Authentic Donor Relationships).

We began by tapping into the college’s core purpose, its mission, and finding individuals and organizations aligned with those purposes. In other words, we did our research and put in the time necessary to do so. Next, we developed how best to reach out to these individuals so that every person on the list had a relationship development plan associated with them, an identified point person from the college, a timeframe, and a series of next steps.

There was no way this campaign was going to succeed unless we started to build real and deep relationships based on a common sense of purpose. The college is now reaping the rewards of the work accomplished by the president, members of the board, and advancement staff in building authentic relationships and partnerships.

This sounds simple, but the most important things often are. Developing true and lasting relationships will position your fundraising campaign for success, now and for years to come. During the pandemic, this is more relevant than ever before.

COVID-19 has changed almost everything and we are in unprecedented times. If you would like to schedule a no-cost 30-minute discovery call, please click this link to find a time. I’d be honored to listen to you.

As always, please feel free to call me at 616.516.9870 or e-mail me at lons@designgroupintl.com. I'm looking forward to it.