Newton's Laws of Fundraising #89 - Sometimes you have to get out there and make something happen
We've all been there.
You've reached that place when there's no momentum anymore. Everything you have set in motion in your fundraising plan has, for whatever reason stopped.
You're trying not to panic, but you feel like you're dead in the water. Like those Spanish ships of old that hit the "horse latitudes" of calm seas and had to start jettisoning everything important, including the equines, so they'd be light enough for the wind to catch their sails and start moving again.
Or maybe it's not that dramatic--you just feel like everything you're doing in your development activities has become stale.
Well, get out there and make something happen! Get outside your comfort zone and provide your own momentum! Here's three ideas...
That new business that opened up down the street? Head in there and meet the proprietors. Make a connection and invite them to lunch. Over lunch ask them if they have a charity partner yet. Talk about how mutually beneficial a partnership could be. Once you become pals with them, you'll meet their contacts and soon you'll have more folks to talk to...and on and on. But it all starts with making something happen.
Did your area elect a new City Council or County Board member? Invite that go-getter over for lunch. Brief them on what you do and the local issues your charity is a part of. Pledge to keep your new friend informed and invite them to your events. Ask them to introduce you to people they meet who might have an affinity for your work. Their influence may open a lot of doors for you.
All those LinkedIn connections that you really have no idea of who they are? We all have them. Why not get the ball rolling with each of them and invite them over for coffee! Turn that "connection" into a "friend" or even "donor."
As your momentum starts to grow again, keep inserting activities like these into your regular activities to keep moving forward.
For more ideas or to find new ways to move your charity, church or organization forward, contact me anytime at (309) 689-2809 or phil@perennialpartnersci.com
