Profits Spring from Fundraising Investments

Fundraising success is built around having a charitable and abundant mindset and this article by Benjamin Domingue explains why for fundraisers, making the ask is the easy part. What is harder, is managing up to a CEO or leadership who are constantly second-guessing the costs of fundraising. It’s often easier to look at a professional fundraiser’s salary and other costs as an overly bloated expense that can be zeroed out by an active board member volunteer, or the new social media whiz who will post his way to the organization’s viral success and multi-million dollar budget.

According to a brief Google search, “…the fundraising market size was valued at USD 625.89 Billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 845.15 Billion by 2030.” In other words, if fundraising was so easy, there wouldn’t be a market in the billions for fundraisers. And that gets to the point of Benjamin’s article.

There is nothing wrong with pinching pennies when it comes to building out a fundraising department or hosting a lavish gala intended to impress and celebrate, but don’t turn your cost cutting – and staff cutting – into a virtue. It’s important to remember one of my favorite rules… fundraising is built on relationships. And relationships take time and investment.

If you resort to cutting fundraising staff and corners to meet ambitious budget goals, you miss the essence of charitable giving. Your focus should revolve around your organization’s vision, its impact, and investing in individuals who possess the expertise to nurture lasting and fruitful relationships with your donors.

Replacing development staff may become necessary at times, but remember that replacing fundraising staff solely to save money in the budget implies that the new development staff will start from scratch in cultivating those meaningful donor relationships.