With the world so unsettled lately, I’ve been looking at my resume. I’m very goal oriented. Tell me you need $10. I’ll get you $20. Everywhere I’ve been, I exceeded monetary goals, doubled, or tripled the donor base, increased donor retention. The list of accomplishments goes on, but the truth is when folks asked me how I did it, I didn’t know.

I said I wrote out plans, managed moves, and had a portfolio of donors with individual plans, but to tell you the truth inside I felt like I was just lucky.
Well, finally I’m beginning to find the words for why things tended to work.

Yes, I did keep that dollar goal in mind – always, but my focus was on people and on the relationship they felt to the organization. That meant people first. Plans second. Metrics third.

I did meet with the folks who had given the most in the past; people, who had given the longest, and people, who clearly had a deep interest in our mission. And yes, I did research their giving potential, their profession, their giving history, and their other charitable giving, but what seemed to matter the most is that I just listened – whether we conversed by text or email, phone or in-person. When I listened, then I could honor who they were and what they cared about.

If they were passionate about our mission, I would tell them about the good they could make possible. When they cared, I made sure they heard about the lives they had changed, they good they had done. If they gave because they had a connection to staff, I told them how effective their friend was and how happy the friend was to know they were doing good together.

If they had other interests they cared about, I made sure to share opportunities to do the good that meant the most to them. If they weren’t interested in our mission, I knew they had other “good” to do, and let go.

So, all in all, I made sure our mission had diverse revenue streams, but kept in mind that the majority of charitable giving comes from individuals. While I wrote grants, approached businesses and corporations, I knew that people mattered most of all. People, who care, can do lots of good – especially when they know you care about them.