Meaningfully engaging donors and raising significantly more money are not functions of. . .
- Your organization’s number of facebook likes;
- The average number of tweets your organization produces each week;
- Integrating cutting edge widgets onto your website;
- Supplying planned giving calculators on your website;
- The number of hits on your organization’s website;
- The number of emails you send;
- Whether your case statement is four-color or two-color;
- Increasing the number and types of special events;
- Using video in powerpoint presentations.
Instead, gaining more engagement with donors and raising more money are functions of:
- The number of face to face visits you complete;
- The number of moves (correctly defined) you make;
- The number of asks or proposals you extend;
Two questions:
- On which bullet points do you and your team spend the bulk of your time?
- What do you measure each week/month/year?
It’s easy to get sidetracked by bells, whistles, and the extras. If you are increasing your number of visits, moves, and asks, you are almost guaranteed to engage more donors and raise more money. Your work will also be far more fun. What matters most are donors and your relationships with them. Everything else plays second fiddle.