Hope is Not a Strategy
The 10 Problems Hope Won’t Cure is a good checklist to see how the Fundraising Performance Imperatives can be valuable to you.
High CDPR Activities
Reliance on special events and annual giving as principal fundraising strategies, which results in a high cost-per-dollar raised as well as less money raised.
Cases that look Inward
Cases for support that are inwardly focused on meeting operational and capital needs set by management and do not inspire the excitement necessary to attract high-dollar board members and donors.
Misaligned Board
Foundation boards not aligned to major gift fundraising, which orients the program toward only smaller gifts that are reliant on staff member pipeline work and solicitations.
Weak Stewardship
Inadequate stewardship programs, which lead to poor donor retention and a higher fundraising cost to acquire new donors.
Weak Support
Executive and board leadership not oriented to fundraising as a leadership responsibility, which leaves the fundraising staff without the influence that leaders have in the community or within your constituency.
Organizational Structure
Staff organizational structures that promote neither effective teamwork nor performance-oriented specialization, causing inefficient and ineffective uses of time and team member disengagement.
Strategic Plan and Metrics
Absence of multiyear strategic development plans and performance metrics, which leads to static or declining levels of investment and little or no year-to-year improvement.
Lack of Process
Lack of process, rigor and accountability resulting in wasted time, poor follow-up with potential donors and lackluster results.
Small Teams
Relatively small staffs and inadequate resources compared to the potential that could be raised, which leads to leaving large amounts of money on the table.
Disconnects to Your Beneficiary
Disconnects between fundraising operations and the institutions they support, which leads to inappropriate goals and cases as well as organizational behaviors that do not support a climate for fundraising success.