“What about asking the alumni who have never given?”
“What about asking the wealthy business leaders in our community who haven’t supported us?”
“What about asking the Gates Foundation or MacKenzie Scott?
It can be tempting to focus on the prospects who may have the financial capacity but have never shown the willingness or interest to give to you.
Blue-sky brainstorming is fun and addictive. It’s the, “if only I won the lottery,” daydream that does happen. Someone does win the lottery. But the odds are astronomically against that someone being us.
Far better to focus on deepening ties that are already bound to you. Purposefully engaging current donors and major givers is a far more fundamentally sound strategy than chasing others simply because we believe they have wealth.
Lightning does strike. And lightning will start a fire.
But if you really needed a fire in a specific location and at a specific time, you would never want your plan to depend on lightning.
