In this time of recession, it is understandable that nonprofit Board of Directors and staffs are worried. They are seeing government contracts being reduced or cancelled. Their requests for foundation grants are being denied. Special events, which they counted on to bring in the bulk of charitable income, are falling dramatically below expectations. Some are even cancelling them altogether. Board of Directors is calling for the dramatic cutting of expenses, which usually means laying off staff.
With fewer staff, agencies must curtail or eliminate services, at a time when the community may desperately need their services even more. Who is going to feed the hungry? When Clinics make cuts, where do poor people go for health care? Who is going to deal with the growing anger on the streets, the street gangs, the foster kids, the latch-key children? Can we just close our eyes and pretend they can do without the vital services our nonprofits provide?
All people of good conscience, and this means most of us who either work for or volunteer for nonprofit agencies, are anguished. We must go out and raise money, now more than ever.
Raise money? According to BoardSource Nonprofit Governance Index 2007, fundraising ranks dead last among areas of Board performance. People don’t want to ask for money. They hate fund raising. But we must raise money or our community services will crumble.
How can we raise money in the middle of a serious recession? We are caught in a dilemma.
This is the time to realize that we must change our attitude about fund raising, and see it not ask asking for money (like begging), but as providing an opportunity for people to help those for whom they feel compassion. We want to help the helpless! Picture of hungry children make us cry. We know that there must be a way to reduce gang violence without locking up all these young people. We can’t afford to build more prisons so we must solve the gang problem. I can go on and on. We must view fundraising through new lenses.
I have worked with dozens of nonprofits in Los Angeles and retrained their Board of Directors to revisualize their fund raising so that they can talk to people about their agencies needs without feeling that they are begging or asking for a favor. It can be hard work, but it is very rewarding, and we have to do it if we really want to bring in the funds we need. People are moved by human suffering. We are in the job of alleviating human misery, so let’s ask people to join us in that effort.
The key ideas behind successful fundraising are simply:
- You must be able to connect the potential donor emotionally with the services you provide;
- The best way to do this is with stories about how your services make an impact on people’s lives;
- Board members should be passionate about the services of the agency, and they must share this passion with others.
- There are specific steps in this cultivation process. It is only after these steps are taken that you can ask for a gift-or as we would rather put it, “provide an opportunity to give”
- If you take these steps, you will probably get a gift, not at first, but at last.
And what about the Recession? While there is not doubt that some wealthier people who lost a ton in the market collapse may cut back there major gifts, we have learned that during other difficult times philanthropy does not suffer as badly as we would think. People seem to realize that no bad things are for the, for many others, life is desperate. If we can convey that story in a dramatic and compassionate way, people will continue to respond.
For those who really must pull back until the economy starts to rebound, we must stay close to them during their difficult time. We must continue to cultivate them, involve them, not turn our backs on them. This is the time to get closer to our donors. Those agencies that do, will be th winners when the good times return.
If this message resonates with you, and you are in the Los Angeles area, please contact me to see if I can help.
Tags: fund raising, Nonprofit Boards, Recession