My radar picked up an article the other day titled The Art of Fundraising, written by Gary Laermer of the YMCA of Greater New York and published on Huffington Post.

When I got into the piece, I found it was aimed at the development end of the fundraiser spectrum — major donors and corporate gifts.

But the message actually applies to all fundraisers. Let me relate it here to the direct response end of the spectrum, where we tend not to think enough that we’re actually in the relationship building business, like our major gift brethren.

Here’s the key excerpt from The Art of Fundraising:

People want to feel like they are making a tangible difference — and know exactly how they are contributing to important, lasting change …

One of my favorite memories at the YMCA involves a grown man sitting among third graders in a classroom. This donor, a journalist turned publishing executive, asked to see one of our after school programs. By chance, the students were working on a writing project — stories about “my mom,” “my dad,” “my summer,” and so on. The donor, who asked to see a couple of the pieces, ended up eagerly reading all of stories while sitting in a small children’s chair.

“I had almost forgotten what it was like to write for pure pleasure,” he said smiling. This 30-minute visit proved invaluable in strengthening the Y’s relationship with this donor. If collecting gifts is the science of fundraising, working your way into the heart of the donor is the art.

That last sentence again:

“If collecting gifts is the science of fundraising, working your way into the heart of the donor is the art.”

Too many direct response fundraisers, churning out ‘contacts’ to meet their annual direct mail and online fundraising plans, are only focused on ‘collecting gifts’ — the tactics side that is most measurable … and therefore deemed the ‘science’.

Too little attention is placed on the ‘art’ — ‘working your way into the heart the donor’. And yet that’s really the key to success.

Fortunately, even direct response fundraisers can replicate the 30-minute donor visit described above.

As you craft your messages and think about how to present them, mentally put your prospective donor in a chair before you. Have a 30-minute ‘conversation’. What would you say that would touch their heart?

Tom

P.S. Hopefully NOT: “Well, would a 2:1 matching gift tip you over?”