Early in my fundraising career, my boss gave me a copy of the local business journal – an issue that featured the 100 wealthiest people in the county.
He told me to write a letter to these individuals, telling them about our mission and asking for their support.
Tracking down the mailing addresses – and my difficulties with a mail merge – made the process slow going. But soon, the letters were printed, envelopes addressed, and the packets went out the wealthiest among us.
And then, we waited. Waited for the checks and the accolades to roll in. After all, these were wealthy individuals – so how could they not want to support this mission?
You may have already guessed how this story ends. No responses, no gifts.
It seems obvious that a scheme like this wouldn’t work, but every day a well-meaning nonprofit leader asks a beleaguered fundraiser if she’s considered calling Bill Gates, or Oprah, or some other wealthy person with little or no connection to the organization.
This keeps happening because we keep confusing capacity with intent – thinking that the most important trait in a potential donor is wealth. And that by finding people with capacity, we can easily convince them to donate to our mission.
Capacity is an important factor – especially when creating prospect lists for a major gift campaign. But for the most part, it won’t help you connect first time donors to your organization. Instead, consider:
Shared values – individuals that are connected to or involved in your cause.
Established relationships – volunteers, community members, lapsed donors, and supporters that haven’t donated yet can all be fantastic prospects.
Contacts from your board and committee members.
Contacts from mailing lists & social media channels.
If you’ve done all that – and only if you’ve done all that – then you can start sending letters to Bill Gates.
If you want your donor discovery strategy to be more than a list of local wealthy families, we should talk. Your donors are closer than you think.
Keep up the great work!
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