Rule #65: “Fundraising is relational science.”
Micah Mann,
Senior Consultant, Client Services
Many years ago, when my son was very young, our little family received an invitation to a fundraising event for a ministry we loved and supported. The tickets were priced significantly higher than our typical giving, but after some hemming and hawing, my lovely wife and I decided to make a date night out of it.
Fast forward to several months later. My wife and I received a compelling direct mail appeal from this same ministry—a shining testimony of their eternal impact, complete with photos, that perfectly encapsulated why we supported them. But when we got to the suggested ask amount, my heart sank. The amount the ministry was asking us for was way beyond our means at the time—and significantly higher than our typical giving.
Sound familiar?
The suggested amount was based on the total value of the tickets we had purchased for our date night fundraising event. In other words, the ticket amount had been entered into the database as our most recent gift!
This is a real-life example of Doug’s Rule #65: Fundraising is relational science from his book “More Rules of Fundraising,” and it underscores this timeless wisdom in all that we do as relational fundraisers. As the Rule says, we “marry a good relational story, one that elicits emotion, to all of the knowledge of proven or scientific methods of fundraising . . . that will yield the results we’re seeking.”
As fundraisers, we can create distance with our donors when we aren’t consistently reflecting their values and reality. This unintended distance causes donors to ask, “Does this ministry really know me? and do I really know them?” Both of which introduce hurdles to giving that distract from donors’ desire to support your mission.
Every element of our fundraising counsel is designed to faithfully present your ministry to your donor and prospect audiences. In the dance of beautifully crafted storytelling and data-driven best practices, we help you to avoid stepping on your donors’ toes. You might not get another dance if you do.
Read the next rule here . . .
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