2021 has been another challenging year, but especially so in the fundraising sector. To understand more on this “thorny” subject of why fundraising has been so complicated in 2021 read further . . .
Fundraising, charity, or tzedakah as it is referred to in Hebrew, has been around a very, very long time; an integral part of Jewish Law and “way of life” that transcends levels of religious observance as simply being “the right thing to do”
A form of social justice, when giving a donation, no matter how small, the donor benefits from giving as much or even more than the recipient benefits from receiving. Giving builds trusting relationships and includes contributions of time, effort, and insight.
There have always been good causes to support and once upon a time when an organization or community needed to raise money there would often be no choice but to send a trusted individual on a voyage that would take him away from his home and loved ones for a year or more. Armed with little more than the clothes on his back and a plea for help from the City Elders, he would knock on the doors of the wealthy and hospitable, begging his case and praying for a salvation.
On the other hand, the fundraiser of yesteryear had one advantage over his 21st century colleagues, the lack of competition. A fundraiser arriving in town was an object of curiosity and interest. Compare that scenario to where, in December 2020, there were 1.4 million non-profit organizations in the USA and 35,967 non-profit organizations in Israel – that’s one for every 250 people, you realize how tricky fundraising has become. Many non-profit organizations, some of which with similar agendas, are chasing after the same dime.
You could make the argument that there’s enough mega-wealthy people out there, that all it takes is a couple per organization and all the problems fly out of the window, and yes, when it comes to your donor acquisition strategy, it makes sense to prioritize high net worth donors, whose contributions can have a large impact on your annual budget. However, a smart fundraising strategy focuses on both the donors who give large annual donations as well as the smaller donor who gives $50 a year.
When you create a diversified strategy where your nonprofit isn’t relying too heavily on just one source of revenue—whether that’s one annual event or one $100,000 donation—you are mitigating the risk that such a huge potential loss can have on your organization.
So now we see that there really is an issue to be addressed: how to ensure that your organization doesn’t get lost in the crowded arena of 1.4 million non-profits in the United States (or the 35,967 in Israel).
Over the next few weeks, we will look at various strategies how to make YOUR organization stand out from the crowd
Comments