Consistent Strategies for Visionaries

If you’re a visionary with entrepreneurial energy (like me), you might also have shiny object syndrome (like me 🙋). 

People like us are ready to try the next big thing before we’ve even conquered the first little thing. 

It’s a blessing and a curse—it can either get in the way (like dog-butt-in-your-face-when-you want-to-see-the-tv) or it can come in clutch when you’ve got big problems to solve.

So if you’re the type of person who would prefer to be launching the next campaign rather than digging in the weeds doing the boring daily tasks (like donor retention) over and over again listen up: 

Whether you are planning to take big risks or to get head-down while you focus on safe, boring fundraising, it’s MOST important that you’re consistent for the long haul. 🎤

Truth is, most people fail at being consistent because they fear the risk. 
If I focus on trying new things, I’ll get behind on fundraising! But if I focus only on nailing my systems, I might miss the next big opportunity and grow too slowly!   

Stop right there and hear me out: “It’s just a season.” (Now you repeat it back all monotone and robot-like.) 

Because I want you to get this firmly planted in your head. The next shiny thing will come along. Right now it’s either time to do the new thing until it’s not new anymore; or, it’s time to keep doing what’s working, even if it’s not sexy. 

So, how does this look in real life, for real fundraising strategy?

If you’re in a season of trying new things:

1. Shift your focus to pursuing individual unrestricted giving from donors who believe in your figure-it-out mentality and are willing to let you take risks because they believe in your vision.
2. Sell them on a multi-year strategy. You can’t know if something is working when you’re always worried about hitting that 12-month turnaround for fundraising.
3. Pursue entrepreneurial-minded donors and engage them as thought partners. Cast your vision. Be honest if you aren’t exactly sure how you’re going to get there. Tell them that you want to try a bunch of things. And bring them on board to help solve the problem.

If you’re in a season of head-down, doing the boring stuff: 

1. Focus on upgrades, not overhauls. Upgrade your staff. Upgrade yourself. Upgrade your systems. In other words, while your head is down, invest in learning so you can be the best at what you do; focus on efficiency; make sure you have the best donors, the best staff, the best board. Always cut from the bottom and upgrade to the top.
2. Do more; not different. People wonder how to become a better fundraiser. No one’s necessarily born a natural fundraiser. It just takes practice. It’s just a math problem. The more asks you put out, the more nos you’re gonna get. But you’re going to get more yeses too.
3. Don’t take it personally when you fail. Just because a prospect wasn’t wowed by your vision or ready to dive head first in pursuit of your mission, that doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Use your big, beautiful brain to NOT torture yourself. Give it time before you decide you’re going down the wrong path. You don’t need ALL the donors, just the right ones.
4. Do your housekeeping before you outsource it. In other words, if things are plugging along too slowly, there might be a problem in your systems and processes. Do your troubleshooting first so you don’t hire a Development Director and end up with a very highly-paid admin. You need your Development Director to get more donors in the door, but they can’t do that if the house is dirty.

Want more tips on making consistency, dare-I-say, sexy? Check out this week’s podcast episode “Small Shop Strategies” with the amazing Rachel Bearbower and Tell me what you think. I’d love to connect.