When the going gets tough

The doomsayers are about and I feel a rant coming on.

OK, times are going to get tough. But financial peaks and troughs, by their very nature, tend to come and go. Of course, this one could be different. It may well be deeper, for longer, but I doubt if throughout it donors will be any different. So I’m not gloomy about the future because in the past they’ve never let us down.

We fundraisers, on the other hand, are usually among the first to head for cover when the going gets tough. Even in good times we as a group can be depended upon to be unreliable.

For years I’ve had my ear bent about donor fatigue, legacies meltdown, falling ROI, compassion overload and such stuff. I’ve been solemnly told that donors will eventually die out, that young people care more about themselves than others in need, that fundraising is more stressful than most occupations.

Tosh!

Even after the tsunami there were fundraisers bemoaning that all the money for donations had already been given away to someone else. It was all piffle. Despite the ups and downs of the past 30 years fundraisers have consistently thrived. Well, the wise ones have, at least. Donors have kept on giving as they always do, as often as not in spite of the fundraisers rather than because of them. In past recessions giving has often gone up, not down. And the hardest hit parts of the country have given most.

It’s not donor fatigue that’s the problem in gloomy times. Most often, it’s fundraiser fatigue. That, coupled with growing risk aversion, may be the voluntary sector’s undoing. Though we’ll blame the economy, of course.

For the sake of our causes and our beneficiaries, now is not the time for playing safe. Instead, when the going gets tough, it is incumbent on us not to get left behind, so we should accept that we may need to increase our risks. In the 1966 blockbuster movie Grand Prix, starring James Garner and Eve Marie-Saint – described as a slam-you-into-the-driver’s seat tale of speed, spectacle and intertwined personal lives (so, a bit like fundraising) – the French driver Sarti, played by actor Yves Montand, explains his race-winning tactic.

Whenever he sees a pile-up ahead with mayhem and confusion on the track and other drivers swerving wildly or decelerating, Sarti puts his foot down and drives straight through, relying on his skill and nerve to pass all obstacles, on to the winner’s flag. Maybe for fundraisers this is an Yves Montand moment – time to carefully and cleverly assess the confusion and the opportunities around you and bravely forge a way forward that will take your organisation ahead, into a new league. However long and deep the recession, it’s likely to be a time when your main competitors will all be going in more or less the same direction, and at the same speed.

Not for the faint-hearted perhaps, but now could be the time to test some new acquisition innovations, some courageous approaches to former donors, to expand your list exchanges, trial new levels of customer service, call more comprehensively on your major donors, work on your capacity to inspire, test new fundraising products and propositions, even to redefine the urgency and right-ness of your cause.

Who dares, wins. No guts, no glory, and all that.

And another thing. If you’d been doing this relationship fundraising thing, like I was telling you to do more than 15 years ago, your donor relationships would be seriously recession proof now, wouldn’t they?

Rant over. I rest my case.

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Ken’s commandments

The lesson from past crises is that recession time is a time to be bold and to reaffirm the fundamentals. Here’s ten things I would recommend.

1. Do not cut back investment in fundraising. This would be very foolish. In particular, don’t cut basic donor care, such as your welcome and thank you procedures.
2. Present your cause positively and optimistically.
3. There’s safety in focusing on individual giving. Concentrate on ‘the big three’ - regular donors, legacies (bequest) and major donors. Get back to basics. Cut all unprofitable/low return activities.
4. Define your products very well. Make sure your donors see your cause as the last thing they will cut.
5. Get to be very good at communication – particularly low-cost, electronic media.
6. Demonstrate value for money for your donors at every opportunity.
7. Now is the time that your efficient, friendly donor service will pay off. You’ll be glad that some years back you invested in donor care/relationship building.
8. Be genuinely transparent, open and accountable.
9. Share your problems with donors. Ask them to stand by your cause through this crisis. Don’t be negative.
10. Show and demonstrate your dedication and commitment to your cause. Don’t be afraid to ask your donors to be similarly committed.

When it was first published in 1992 Ken Burnett’s book Relationship Fundraising set the agenda for charity-donor relations. Updated and reissued in 2002, with his 2006 book The Zen of Fundraising it continues to be an indispensable source of ideas and inspiration for those raising funds for good causes. Ken is also founder and managing trustee for the archive of fundraising best practice, SOFII (the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration: www.sofii.org), a free resource for fundraisers worldwide. His books and articles can be found via his website, www.kenburnett.com.  Ken can be contacted at ken@kenburnett.com.