A Better Way To Get

To make charity’s getting more successful, the following lessons could be applied:

1.       Make getting meaningful so that the impact of these initiatives above is beyond question in their effectiveness and efficiency.  The marketplace should gain new and measurable value from a gift received this way by a qualified charity or their fundraising champions on professional staff, volunteer, or board member.

2.       Make getting measurable, make it transparent to all who encounter your efforts, and make it exceptionally compelling.  Those who can see charitable value will reward that value with vital, personal support for your charity’s mission.

3.       Do more with less whether you are a traditional non-profit organization, community hospital, community bank, or any other type of foundation, getting does not have to be expensive, or overly complicated.  Management of funds and compliance with the numerous rules and regulations that govern them does not have to be burdensome either.  More can be done with less, with proper planning, structure and management.

4.       Recruit the best philanthropic advisory teams to help better ensure success and that of your prospective donor’s success.  No matter your ultimate philanthropic objective you will need a team of seasoned professionals at your disposal to better navigate the challenging, charitable world of today.

5.       Excel through your team of advisors, who like you, should be committed to unparalleled excellence in advising your charity; who can provide you with a wide variety of universal choice solutions to your problems, not some esoteric issue that others have faced.

6.       Exceed expectations by using the best practices available in the industry at the time of a donation in a way that sets new standards of operations among other charities in your field of service or mission category.

7.       Articulate your goals.  Be obvious and demanding in the results you seek for those your serve.  You should want your results to be transformational.  You should ask that any charitable gift entrusted to you and your organization do great social good for many, not just a few.  You should insist that the results of your raise be made available for others so that they can benefit, too.

8.       Make the biggest difference as you manage and oversee charitable funds, especially any sizeable gift.  For a children’s charity, for example, you should want to build the safest anything possible.  If managing a program, you should want that program to use the safest protocols possible.

9.       Be entrepreneurial.  There are a wide variety of giving tools available to prospective donors through charitable organizations from major gifts, annual funds, special events, and planned giving.  Few, however, are truly innovative in nature and do little to maximize or leverage a personal or private portfolio so that it can have more measurable impact on its intended beneficiary.

10.   Do not be afraid of hard work and learning.  Too many charities rely on the quick but expensive kill that is represented by special event funding and annual funds.  And, as we have seen, when the market is hurting, these type of funds often dry up quickly – too quickly.  There is nothing wrong with using these tools but do not be afraid of tools such as program related investments, planned giving and principal gifts to get the job done either.   True, these tools may require more sophistication and deeper knowledge among your fundraising team, but the benefits will be worth it and the value to your donors unquestionable.

You can do this! There is indeed a better way to get!