Don't blindly accept these nonprofit fundraising myths

When I was a journalist, we were often at odds with the business side of news.

Advertising would nudge us to write a story on the 10-year anniversary of a local business that regularly placed ads. Or make sure we knew about a business ribbon-cutting. We would resist.

Sometimes we would even win.

During my career in nonprofit communications, I’ve come to realize my work must align with the fundraising goals of the organization. Thanks in large part to the experts at the annual Nonprofit Storytelling Conference, I’ve learned more about the fundraising side of things than I ever did in journalism.  I’ve also realized there are unchallenged myths about fundraising. Here are a few:

“We can’t ask our donors because…” There are lots of ways organizations end this sentence, but all of them are boundaries set by fear, not actuality. The most common one is the fear that if you ask donors too many times, they will get mad and stop giving.

 It sounds logical until you check with experts familiar with individual fundraising. They say the more you ask, the more you will receive. And those who are really on board with your mission won’t bail on you because you asked them four times a year instead of twice. A recent study asked 98,000 donors why they stopped giving. Top two reasons: Never acknowledged (19.4%) and Not asked again (15.8%). Only 4.7% said they stopped giving because they were asked too often.

“If you work more, you will raise more.” Not necessarily. Smart nonprofits repurpose content for newsletters, social media platforms, ask letters and print collateral. They know it is foolish to assume every donor has read every story they’ve produced. You can stretch your communications and fundraising dollars by reusing great stories on different platforms.

“We’re running in the red. We need a new revenue stream.”  When individual and foundation funding is flat or dropping off, organizations sometimes panic. They look for new ways to raise money while paying scant attention to their existing revenue structure.

At a conference, I remember Steven Screen, a top national expert on individual fundraising, saying organizations looking to improve their revenue picture need to take three steps in order – stabilize, optimize and expand. Most go straight to expand. Instead, stabilize your fundraising efforts by making sure your current system is functioning correctly so your revenue stream is predictable. Once you’ve done that, optimize that system by increasing audiences, gift amounts and frequency of asks. Only then are you ready to expand with new revenue streams.

One of the things I learned in journalism was to not assume. That’s also good advice for nonprofit fundraisers.