Organizations may be tempted to delay finishing or even starting their strategic fundraising plans and the necessary tactical action steps for the rest of 2025 through 2026.
Others may be urged to shed fundraisers like yesterday’s news.
Both behaviors may be disastrous to revenue.
Especially important now are: 1. three-scenarios planning; and 2. the maintenance and enhancement of relationships with staff, current and former volunteers, current and former donors, and with current and former board and committee members in tailored ways. Networking to prospective donors through personal referrals and social media will be crucial at all gift levels.
Here are my suggestions for the path forward:
- Do your plans NOW and make the assumptions needed to have a detailed set of action steps and goals. Do this for worst case, best case, and intermediate case funding scenarios.
- Prioritize personalized donor conversations and deepening them at every giving level in the most sincere and compelling ways possible. Tell the stories! Show us!
- Expect your constituents to at least maintain their level of giving and respectfully seek larger gifts from all.
- Continue to press your case for major gifts for capital, infrastructure, staff, and programmatic needs. Billions of dollars are raised in every recession (if there’s going to be one). Don’t sacrifice your market share.
- Your constituencies are expecting you to ask for help. Ask with sensitivity to do the most they can. Do your homework. Don’t assume what my giving capacity is.
- Donor acquisition is a bit lower priority right now. Retention rules. Steward!
- Qualify big gift prospects carefully (Google!). Humbly ask for a stretch gift.
- Be flexible about pledge payment periods. Don’t forget simple planned giving techniques.
- Upgrade special events to dramatize your mission and results. Make them fun.
- Hire staff or contract for effective and frequent periodic appeals and stewardship via all pertinent methods—voice, video, social media, text, QR, mail, email.
- I want to hear from you at least quarterly, getting alternating opportunities to receive your personalized stewardship and to learn giving opportunities that might be right for me. I’m older so remind me of IRA Charitable Rollovers, marketable real estate, et al.
- A simple telephone call is a stewardship gift. Call me to thank me and tell me your great mission success stories. No solicitation. Just thanks. Use staff and volunteers to the maximum for this.
- Maintain your contact list. Don’t prune lapsed donors too fast. Volunteers, board, and committee members stay on list and are updated.
You can do it! Don’t lose a minute. A well-crafted plan of three scenarios with action steps and deadlines will keep you sane, avoiding obsessing about what you can’t control. Focus on what you can do.