Foolishness

31 Mar Foolishness

1 April 2024

By David Allen, Development for Conservation

Today is not normally a day for taking things too seriously, but I need to share with you something actually quite serious.

It turns out I’ve been wrong.

All along.

I meant well, and it seemed right – it made sense at the time.

But I can see the error of my ways.

Now if I can just be brave enough to admit it.

Here goes:

Strategic planning is a total waste of time. We can get to much more done if we follow our hearts instead of a plan. Plans just end up gathering dust. And who has the time to plan anyway?

I didn’t always see it this way. I’m sorry – I was wrong.

We don’t need metrics for our outreach programs. If we just do enough of the fun things we’ve always wanted to do anyway, people will catch on. Engagement! If we build it, they will come. In a nutshell, they will be grateful and see that ours is one of the most important charities they could support.

I didn’t always see it this way. I’m sorry – I was wrong.

Major gift fundraising and planned giving are really just about getting lucky. We get to know people and it turns out that some of them are a real pain. Demanding. Individual. Always looking over your shoulder. Getting in the way. Talking to real people is overrated – and time-consuming.

Digital marketing is really where it’s at. It’s so much more efficient. And you can reach so many more people so much more efficiently. Chances are we’ll get lucky anyway.

I didn’t always see it this way. I’m sorry – I was wrong.

Calling people just irritates them – even when we’re just calling to say Thank you. Truth is, they really don’t need to be thanked anyway. The knowledge that they are doing good is good enough.

Waiting to say thank you at all until there are enough to make it worthwhile is therefore acceptable. Most people are just grateful to be thanked during the same month as their gift. Thanking people within a week or two is just fine.

I didn’t always see it this way. I’m sorry – I was wrong.

And mail! It turns out that people really do get turned off by mail. No one has time to read long letters. Short ones work just as well. In fact, people notice when we send less and less mail and shorter and shorter letters. And they give MORE money!

And all this nonsense about asking for specific amounts of money? It turns out that when we don’t make any presumptions, when we ask people to “give again” or to “please be as generous as possible,” they give MUCH more than they would have if we had asked them for something specific – like $100 or $250.

I didn’t always see it this way. I’m sorry – I was wrong.

Actually, there’s much more money in corporate giving than I ever imagined. We just need a full-blown program to show all the businesses that it’s their own enlightened self-interest to support conservation over, say, healthcare, social services, education, and the arts.

I didn’t always see it this way. I’m sorry – I was wrong.

When times are tight, we win by spending less and less money on fundraising. The less we spend on fundraising the more will be available to programs. In fact, the more people we share how little we spend on fundraising, the more comfortable they are giving us more money.

I didn’t always see it this way. I’m sorry – I was wrong.

We have raised about all we’re ever going to raise from Silent, Boomer, and GenX generations. Instead, we need to think more creatively about how to crack the Millennial nut. The sooner we do that the sooner we’ll be able to double or even triple our revenue. Because – and here’s the key – all Millennials are rabid enviros. They’re just waiting for us to reach out to them effectively. LOL.

I didn’t always see it this way. I’m sorry – I was wrong.

I’ve come around. I didn’t always think this way, but it turns out I’ve been wrong.

All along.

Just Kidding – April Fools!

Cheers and Have a Good Week!

-da

PS: Your comments on these posts are welcomed and warmly requested. If you have not posted a comment before, or if you are using a new email address, please know that there may be a delay in seeing your posted comment. That’s my SPAM defense at work. I approve all comments as soon as I am able during the day.

Photo by Siegfried Poepperl courtesy of Pixabay