In January we talked about prospect identification - where to look for those individuals, corporations and foundations with potential to support your organization. And our January 27th post, Know thy Donor, referred to Tom Belford's post over at the Agitator blog, where he talks about the importance of getting to know your donors and prospects.
In his post today, Tom reinforces the need for organizations to truly know not just the whos and whats of donors and prospects, but to dig deep to discover the whys. He references "soft" research, which is one of the greatest benefits that flows from a development or program audit/assessment, feasibility study, or fundraising planning process. Donors, volunteers, staff and clients will often share their frank and honest thoughts and feelings with a neutral third party when confidentiality is guaranteed and an objective process is in place. Conducting an annual assessment is one of the best ways to let your supporters know that you value their input - and to discover the whys.
Showing posts with label Tom Belford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Belford. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Know thy Donor
There has been a fair amount of healthy debate this week, over at The Agitator blog, about the effectiveness of donor screening tools, the use of CRM (Constituent Relationship Management) systems, and the validity of the traditional donor pyramid model, as they relate to securing major gifts.
In his most recent post on the subject, Tom Belford makes what I consider to be the most important point of all:
"Eventually, at all giving levels that vary by organizational experience and capabilities, more personal interaction with donors needs to take over from direct marketing".
I would argue that this "personal interaction" needs to occur sooner, rather than later. While systems and processes are crucial in helping us evaluate the effectiveness of our development programs and in setting achieveable targets and goals, nothing can replace meaningful donor interaction when it comes down to generating sustainable fundraising revenues.
But before we can focus on these interactions, we first need to have donors - or prospective donors. Tomorrow, we'll talk about Step 1. - How to identify prospective donors.
In his most recent post on the subject, Tom Belford makes what I consider to be the most important point of all:
"Eventually, at all giving levels that vary by organizational experience and capabilities, more personal interaction with donors needs to take over from direct marketing".
I would argue that this "personal interaction" needs to occur sooner, rather than later. While systems and processes are crucial in helping us evaluate the effectiveness of our development programs and in setting achieveable targets and goals, nothing can replace meaningful donor interaction when it comes down to generating sustainable fundraising revenues.
But before we can focus on these interactions, we first need to have donors - or prospective donors. Tomorrow, we'll talk about Step 1. - How to identify prospective donors.
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