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The Top 10 Fundraising Mistakes & How to Avoid Them Presented by Rick Dunham, President+CEO Dunham+Company June 30, 2011 © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 10. TreaJng donors more like a commodity than a person and therefore failing to engage their hearts. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • At the core of any effec:ve donor development program is a genuine human rela:onship which must be captured in both personal interac:on as well as mass communica:on. • This means building genuine knowledge of your donors and crea:ng ways of authen:c interac:on/insight. • Many organiza:ons fail to build a communica:on stream that moves donors from the first date to a serious rela:onship. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 9. Believing that there is a magic bullet that will lead to successful fundraising rather than doing the hard work of consistently execuJng the fundamentals well. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • Fundraising is just hard work that has its highest level of poten:al success when there is consistent, effec:ve applica:on of the fundamentals. • The most successful sports teams are not necessarily those with the best talent, but rather those that execute the fundamentals consistently well. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 8. Driving a fundraising program by expense management. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • The most effec:ve fundraising programs are always driven by the effec:ve investment of available funds, not managing expenses. • Driving fundraising by expense management is one of the quickest ways to marginalize or kill it! © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 7. Believing that the growth of a fundraising program is linear, not cyclical. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • It’s a major mistake to believe you can grow your revenues on a straight line. • There needs to be room for fluctua:ons in the economic environment, natural/seasonal ups and downs, and the fact there will just be months that are off. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 6. Failing to realize that an effecJve donor development program is built off of diversified streams of revenue. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • Many chari:es put themselves in jeopardy because they fail to build a balanced porQolio of donated revenue. • A balanced porQolio includes among other things; direct mail, newsleSers, receipt response income, major donor income, bequests, planned giTs, and founda:ons/trusts. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 5. Believing that donors care about your organizaJon. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • Donors don’t care about your organiza:on, they care about what you do & the impact you make in others’ lives. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 4. The lack of a brand strategy. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • Most organiza:ons have failed to discern their “high ground” and what differen:ates them from the rest of the field… the unique promise they make to the marketplace. • This leads to “thin” and organiza:onally-‐centric communica:ons that fail to inspire and effec:vely engage donors. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 3. Believing your likes or dislikes are actually relevant to effecJve fundraising. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • Never decide on a strategy because you or someone on your team thinks, “ This is something I would never respond to.” • You need to drive your strategy by best prac:ces and what you know about your donors. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 2. Believing that your burnout on an idea or approach equates to donor faJgue. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • There is no such thing as donor fa:gue, just poor or boring communica:on that fails to inspire your supporters. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes 1. Managing to the excepJon... not the rule. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Top Ten Fundraising Mistakes • Reac:ng to the complaints of a few and making decisions that actually damage your fundraising program. • This could include reducing your number of communica:ons, not using a medium such as telemarke:ng, or taking a donor off of your mailing list because of one complaint. © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Subscribe to Dunham+Company’s eUpdates Sign up for Dunham+Company’s eUpdates www.bit.ly/DCeUpdates © 2011 Dunham+Company dunhamandcompany.com Stay in touch with Dunham+Company Dunham+Company (469) 454-‐0100 dunhamandcompany.com @rjdunham @dunhamco © 2011 Dunham+Company youtube.com/DunhamAndCompany dunhamandcompany.com
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