Last night I did my annual presentation to mid-level development professionals who are preparing to take the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) exam. Titled, "Securing the Gift", this presentation is a little like major gift book camp. It covers the psychology of giving, donor motivation, case statements, external factors affecting the viability of organizations, types of gifts and solicitation strategies and techniques.
In less than two hours, we covered all of the above topics and more. The attendees at last night's session were attentive, in spite of working a full day before coming to the presentation. The were tremendously responsive and had much to add to the discussion.
I opened the evening by stating that I am very frustrated with my profession. It appears to me that there are fewer and fewer organizations who are conducting fundraising in a manner that treats donors as someone special. A 25 year career in major gift fund raising has conformed me to thinking about the donors wants and needs. When they are satisfied, they become repeat donor, their giving increases, etc.
At the end, when we had a few minutes and there was a pause in the questions, I said, "Love your donors." Perhaps it was the most important point I made during the entire evening. If each donor is someone that you care about, then they will be treated in a way that fuses them to your organization. They will read your mail, your emails, perhaps your CEO's tweets.
It may sound simple. All of the statistics surrounding fundraising, ROI rates et. al. sound impressive. I believe if we simply loved each and every donor, that we would be more effective development professionals.
