Three Essential Elements of a Successful Fundraising Campaign: Element #3: Time as Your Ally

When developing relationships around a common sense of purpose, time has to be your ally. The more quality time you spend with someone, the better your relationship with them will be. There is no substitute for being together in authentic ways. Nowhere is this truer than in fundraising. Even during the global pandemic, we are finding new ways of being together.

In this series of blogs, we are taking a look at the three requirements of a successful fundraising campaigns. First, we looked at clearly identifying the campaign’s purpose. A few weeks ago, we took a deep dive into relationships and how to build them. Now we will be understanding how to use time as your ally.

Essential #3: Using time as your ally.

Many of you have built strong relationships with donors, perhaps hundreds of them. You know them on a first-name basis and know the details of their connection to your organization. If that’s you, you’re definitely doing something right. If not, you’re in good company, let's keep reading!

In early July, I shared a story about a call that I received from a prospective client wanting help with a capital campaign. Through our work together, we realized that the organization had lost touch with many of its donors and its broader constituency. We also learned that because of past leadership challenges, the organization had lost trust with many of its constituents, including donors and board members. The situation was, as they say, “a hot mess.”

(Click on this image to watch a short video on 3 Essential Elements of a Successful Fundraising Campaign.)

The campaign’s purpose was to transform how services were being delivered to clients. In order to accomplish this, many things needed to change: its building, the programs and services being delivered, and the staffing model. A true transformational effort.

Since you can’t raise money from people who have no connection to your organization, or who have connection but no trust, using time as our ally meant that we had to spend time to rebuild lost relationships and build new ones as well. We also knew that we didn’t have an unlimited amount of time. Remember, it was a 'hot mess.'

A plan began to unfold to:

• rebuild trust with existing donors, constituents, and board members
• initiate new relationships with people who care about what we care about, but just didn't know us yet
• engage community leaders in understanding the changing demographics in the industry and how that impacted their region

Rather than rushing, the organization’s leader carved out a year to implement this plan, was patient in seeing the results, and continued to develop trust with a growing donor base and constituency. By the end of the year the organization was ready to launch the campaign.

Not all leaders can take on organizational transformation, rebuilding trust, and fundraising campaign all at the same time. But with the right process in place and using time as your ally, the odds are definitely in your favor.

COVID-19 has changed many things when it comes to timing. If this is true for you, I’d love to find a time to connect with you and learn more. Please feel free to use this link to schedule a no-cost 30-minute phone call. I’d be honored to listen.

As always, if you would like to talk more about how to get clear on the purpose of your next fundraising campaign, please feel free to call me at 616.516.9870 or e-mail me at lons@designgroupintl.com.

I’m here to do everything I can to help you fulfill the mission of your organization.