FUNDRAISING, FOUR LETTER WORDS AND WINNING

F###, S###, and other words . . . are probably vocabulary that has been in your mind a time or two during this crazy spring and summer. Events being cancelled, donations are down, programs being cut, and little you can do about it. It can be frustrating.

There is another four letter word we want to put in your mind though . . . WINS. It's easy to spend time thinking of things that are not going right, but what can you do to right the ship and feel better mentally? By getting some WINS of course.

Here is the thing about winning and losing though . . . you need to understand the scoring system. A message we have given before but felt that we need to give again, is that you need to put a standard in place. When you do, the following will happen:

1) You and your team know what your goals are. How much money do you need to raise before the end of the year? Don't just stop there though. How many donors do you need to reach that goal? How many appointments do you need to reach THAT goal? How many phone calls or emails do you need to reach your appointment goal? In the "real world" (That some people like to call the FOR PROFIT world) this would be called your Sales Funnel and Sales Process. Create one, put metrics to it, and now you know what you need to do to get some WINS. Make enough phone calls? That's a win. Make your appointment goal? That's a win. Make your fundraising goal? That is definitely a win.

2) Having your goals written down helps the rest of your team understand what they need to do to help get those WINS. It can be frustrating for staff when they don't understand what metrics they need to focus on in order to get the WINS.

3) WINS excite and motivate people. When you create SMART goals, it is exciting for board and staff members to see the progress and eventually see the WINS. The word "Accountability" has been unfairly associated with the word "Micromanagement". As a result it seems less stressful not to have goals, because if your organization does not track the WINS, then that means they also can not track the LOSSES either. Right?

Perhaps. However it also means that you don't have anything to motivate yourself and others. It means you don't have any losses to figure out how to fix issues, and build up your teamwork. It means that you do not have any WINS to help your team celebrate.

All the things going wrong for your fundraising this year, can be mentally draining. The only way to combat that is to create some WINS. If you need help figuring out what your metrics should be, feel free to contact us at www.midweststudiesgroup.com.