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In Major Gift Fundraising, Slow and Steady Wins the Race
“The race is not always to the swift.” That’s one message to come out of Aesop’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. We can also apply it to major gift fundraising.
There are certain aspects of fundraising that hold a sense of urgency. Planning a gala or golf tournament has a deadline. Updating your organization’s website, posting on social media, getting your email newsletter out the door are all tasks. And, true to research, it feels good to cross them off the list. You’re being productive.
Yet, if you want to grow your unrestricted revenue, nonprofit leadership needs to start making different decisions—ones that take a “slow and steady” approach to fundraising.
Guest Podcast Episode: "Planning Where You Want to Go" with Stu Swineford
When someone leads with, “I hope you don’t take this personally…” it’s natural to brace for a blow.
How nice is it then when it turns out to be a compliment!
Someone recently said to me, “I hope you don’t take this personally but I feel like your approach is quite practical, it’s quite straightforward.”
It *is* practical. It’s not flashy, or sparkly, or “out there.” There’s no quick fix to fundraising - and there’s no expedited timeline for growth.
But, when organizations put one foot in front of the other, and are consistent in using the tools we create (skills, knowledge, mindset shifts), that’s when transformation truly occurs.
Guest Podcast Episode: “Take No Prisoners Fundraising Success” with Larry C. Johnson
I want to share a a bit of my recent conversation with Larry C. Johnson, founder of The Eight Principles and host of Oracle League Podcasts.
In our conversation, Larry shared this phrase with me when talking with nonprofit CEOs: Have you found your organization’s four-leaf clover?
We were talking about efficient and effective fundraising - which eludes so many organizations within the nonprofit sector. Executive directors and board members constantly grapple with:
❌ Not enough unrestricted gifts
❌ Lack of gen-ops revenue
❌ Heavy emphasis on project based gifts
❌ Little professional development in fundraising staff
❌ Feeling like they can’t take risks
I’m not telling you anything new here! These ARE the pervasive barriers within the sector.
But, they’re not impenetrable.
New Podcast Announcement: Nonprofit MBA Podcast 3.19 with Stephen Halasnik
When Your Nonprofit Funding is Plateauing Featuring Sherry Quam Taylor on The Nonprofit MBA Podcast
Read an Executive Summary or Listen to the Podcast HERE
Nonprofit Consultant Sherry Quam Taylor from QuamTaylor LLC talks with Stephen Halasnik from Financing Solutions about the signs and solutions for when a nonprofit fundraising has stopped growing. The solutions are much more counterintuitive then one would expect.