Principles Worth Noting
Courtesy of fundraising consultant Pamela Barden, writing in Fundraising Success, here are 12 principles that all fundraisers would do well to heed …
- You are NOT the target audience. So figure out who is.
- You have to spend money to raise money.
- You have to ask to receive.
- Use multiple fundraising tools for balance.
- Good programs need good fundraising. Good fundraising needs good programs.
- Don’t mix your messages. When asking for a gift, leave it at that.
- Ask your donors for three things throughout the year: A gift. Referrals. A bequest.
- A nonprofit is not a business. But if you don’t run it like a business, you will go out of business.
- If you don’t invest in acquiring new donors, you will run out of donors.
- You have to watch your numbers, and course-correct when necessary.
- Donors care about overhead. So you’d better care, too.
- When you stop learning, you may as well stop.
Over three articles, Pamela has made the case well for each of these principles, which I believe apply well to nonprofits of all sizes and shapes.
Pamela, you get an Agitator raise.
Tom
P.S. My Top Three: #2, #1, #5. But then, how could The Agitator not endorse #12?!
Behavioral Science Q & A
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