{"id":21757,"date":"2019-07-23T14:07:30","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T14:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virtuous.org\/raise\/2019\/07\/23\/the-no-1-mistake-nonprofits-make-in-fundraising\/"},"modified":"2019-07-23T14:07:30","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T14:07:30","slug":"the-no-1-mistake-nonprofits-make-in-fundraising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virtuous.org\/raise\/the-no-1-mistake-nonprofits-make-in-fundraising\/","title":{"rendered":"The No. 1 Mistake Nonprofits Make in Fundraising"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Not hitting your fundraising goals? Make sure you\u2019re not making this way too common mistake nonprofits do when fundraising.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You work hard. Your team works hard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got a mission\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Lives are on the line. Foundational principles are on the line. Maybe even the future of our world is at stake.<\/span><\/p>\n

And so you constantly run at 110%, doing five times the amount of work, for half the pay of someone else at a corporate job.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, you\u2019ve got insights into the problem that almost no one else does.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re not just an insanely dedicated worker in the field, you\u2019re the expert.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You understand the problems in your area more acutely than others. You\u2019ve been innovating new, promising ways to change how this problem is addressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

And you may even be seeing some success from your massive efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is all an incredible feat\u2060\u2014and it\u2019s <\/span>why we\u2019re humbled<\/span><\/i> to work with customers like you in the nonprofit world every day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But when you\u2019re in this superhuman, world-saving mode\u2060\u2014it\u2019s easy to fall into the number one trap that kills fundraising success:<\/span><\/p>\n

Thinking your nonprofit is the one making it all possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The No. 1 Mistake all Nonprofits Make<\/span><\/h2>\n

Everybody does this\u2026 sometimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that nonprofits are egotistical. It\u2019s not that they have a savior complex.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This happens normally because nonprofit teams work so hard to get things done and move their mission forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Slowly and unwittingly, nonprofits begin to think they\u2019re the reason everything is happening.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this comes out in their copy.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Whether they mean to or not, whatever they really think comes out eventually.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHelp <\/span>us<\/span><\/i> make a difference in Uganda!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYour gift is a vital part of <\/span>our work<\/span><\/i>!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur organization is on the front lines. Keep <\/span>our life-saving work<\/span><\/i> alive!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you hear the org-centric way this comes across? It\u2019s as inviting as wrapping yourself in the warmth of a blanket made of sandpaper.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For many nonprofits, this is at the root of why their fundraising efforts fail.<\/span><\/p>\n

Org-centric copy creates <\/span>emotional friction<\/span><\/a>, slowing down or killing the donation process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Donors Make Everything Possible<\/span><\/h2>\n

So what\u2019s the solution? How do we get out of the org-centric hole that we\u2019ve gotten ourselves into?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you craft donor-centric fundraising materials that lift donor response?<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got to change the way we view our work and how it happens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a nonprofit, your primary job is not<\/strong> to raise money.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your primary job is to raise donors.\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Donors are the ones who make everything possible. They\u2019re the ones who can make change in the world a viable reality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your nonprofit may have all the grit in the world. You might have the very best methods, practices, and strategies to solve the massive problem you\u2019re up against.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But without donors, you go nowhere.<\/b><\/h3>\n

Donors make everything possible. Donors provide money, which is the fuel for your nonprofit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I recently watched this video of Simon Sinek explaining how businesses are like the cars we buy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Money is the fuel, and without it, a business will go nowhere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet no one buys a car for the purpose of purchasing fuel. Sure, you will have to buy gas, but that\u2019s not the reason you bought the car!<\/span><\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonprofits fit nicely into Sinek\u2019s car analogy.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have a destination. We\u2019re going somewhere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve built the programs and methods that can take us there.<\/span><\/p>\n

But our car needs fuel to move us to our destination. So we begin to fundraise as quickly as we can to get as much fuel as we can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a while, we start to think that our sole purpose is to get more fuel for our magnificent car, to raise more money.<\/span><\/p>\n

This leads to the big trap of thinking we\u2019re the ones who make it possible, therefore, donors <\/span>must<\/span><\/i> give us the fuel.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you know, donors don\u2019t have to give. Sadly, many times they don\u2019t give, and then we go nowhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donors are the ones who make everything possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t fall into the trap!<\/span><\/h2>\n

Just as important as the goal you’re trying to accomplish, are the people who make it possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a fundraiser or whatever role you play within your team, you’re facilitating the cause that your donors want to see become a reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your nonprofit is the conduit through which the donor’s dreams come true.<\/span><\/p>\n

So in your fundraising materials, make sure donors are at the center.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

This means\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. They get the credit in your fundraising materials.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. They have to own the results if they don\u2019t give.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Good copy tells donors what will happen if they give. And it also tells them what will happen if they don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    (In fact, some audiences respond better to the negative motivation of what happens if they don\u2019t give.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Either way, you\u2019re not the center of attention, which is the number one mistake nonprofits make in their fundraising materials.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Avoid the trap. Keep your focus on raising donors, not money.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Not hitting your fundraising goals? Make sure you\u2019re not making this way too common mistake nonprofits do when fundraising. You work hard. Your team works hard.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got a mission\u2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":21758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[817],"tags":[],"types":[],"ppma_author":[597],"class_list":["post-21757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donor-relationships","author-stephenbvirtuous-org"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t