'Don't let that blog get too dusty'

I love my blog. I write what I think and people read it, respond to it and share it. Blogging is fun.

Today I received a message during a conversation via twitter from a friend that said: 'Don't let that blog get too dusty.' He's probably right. If I want to keep this up I should write more. So the next question is do I want to keep writing? What is the purpose?

Being a fundraiser in the trenches can be a very isolating and lonely experience. This blog is unique in that I'm not a consultant. My intentions are to simply share my experiences in the hope that it will help you in a small way to earn more money for your cause, perhaps enjoy your job more or probably most importantly feel less alone. What I love about fundraising is that we openly share our experiences to help our competitors get better at what they do.

I have come to the conclusion that I will keep blogging. When I feel I have something to share that might be of value. NOT just to feed the machine and maintain momentum so that you keep seeing me pop up in your twitter stream or your inbox. I think the world is full of enough clutter.

(Although, I admit that my motivations aren't totally altruistic. I obsess over google analytics as much as other bloggers I know. But don't tell anyone.)

As my thoughts about this rambled on, I started to reflect on the momentum in my online community. Fundraisers are socializing with each other online all day and night long. Are we starting to become so distracted by socializing and networking online that we aren't taking care of ourselves or doing our jobs as effectively as we should? How many of us are a lot 'heavier' in real life than we are in our avatars? How many of us are struggling at work and using social media and volunteer work as a welcome distraction?

Don't get me wrong, I advocate for learning this language and understanding how online communications are impacting our sector. I believe we must learn about this new way of talking to each other to be relevant. We need to be comfortable saying 'tweet' and knowing what RT's and DM's are before taking our organizations and donors into the realm of social media. However, I think for those of us fundraisers in the trenches who don't have 'social media guru' in our job description we need to take a pause and ask ourselves: Are there donors I should be writing to instead? Am I getting out of the office as much as I should? Will I deliver my budget this year?

Yes we have a new world to learn about, but let's not forget the good old pillar of fundraising: people give to people. Turn off twitter once in awhile, be disciplined about how many blogs you read and go share a cup of tea with a donor.

Thank you for spending time here.

Donors don't care about your needs

It is natural. Charities have needs. We need money to deliver programs. We need staff to raise money. We need active competent volunteers to carry forward our message. We need paper, lights, equipment and office space in order to make the world a better place. The 'NEED' always precedes the ability to meet the need. Always.

That is the game we live in. It can be very stressful and demanding. There is never time to relax and often when the rest of the world is on holiday we are busier than ever. That is life in the trenches of a charity. If this reality is too stressful for you go work in a bank. (hmmm maybe a bank isn't the best analogy anymore...)

The point is 'we need' to be able to live with this kind of stress. But here's the thing. Donors really don't care about your organizational needs. I'd like to start a movement asking charities to eliminate the words 'We Need' from all of their communications materials.

It is a very simple exercise just replace those words with 'You can' when you write. Try it, it is a fundamental shift in the way you will think about connecting with donors.

Donors don't care about our needs. Donors care about changing the world for the better. Donors care about having an impact. Donors donate from an emotional place in spite of us, not because of us. Unicef Canada seems to be getting this with a program connecting donors to work in the field.

The Unicef Canada model is so simple. We can all do it. Try shifting your perspective from an internal one to an external one. Try setting your personal and organizational egos aside. Try being truly donor centred in all of your communications by banning the words 'we need'.

Start helping everyone in your organization to reframe their thinking. Connecting donors with the work they help deliver in the field will raise more money...so that you can do more for beneficiaries...and perhaps even keep the lights on and hire more staff.

Thank you for spending time here.