Three Habit Practices to Make Your Fundraising Run Smoother
Guest blog by: Carrie Zarotney, Certified Human Potential Coach and Certified Mindfulness Workplace Facilitator
Oxford Dictionary defines a habit as, “A settled or regular tendency or practice.” In a team or organization, habits are powerful forces that can support decision making and promote ease. These three habit practices can not only help make your fundraising efforts run smoother, they might just leave your team with more time and an improved perspective on their contributions.
Know Your Why -
Before jumping into executing tasks or creating strategy, it is imperative that you and your team truly understand the personal “Why” behind what you are doing. Of course you have your mission to point to, but often times that has been polished to be digestible for the public. Making a habit of understanding your and your team’s connection to the organization can help provide motivation when things get tough.
This could look like starting with your mission statement and going deep on your why for doing the work. You can do this individually or as a team. For example, in looking at the mission statement, ask yourself, “Why is that important?” and then drill down further on your response.
“Why is your response important?” and so on, drilling down as many layers as needed to get to your/your team’s core why. Please note, even if the job is a stepping stone for you and your answer is “I need a paycheck,” keep drilling down until you feel there are no more layers remaining.
Once you have the final “Why” write it down and post it somewhere you can see every day. Knowing and seeing this driver will help you keep going, even on difficult days.
Where Possible Decide Once
Decision fatigue is real. The more decisions you make over the course of a day, the more physically, mentally and emotionally depleted you and others in your organization become. Where possible, eliminate the need for decisions by deciding once. Like Steve Jobs standing in front of his closet, deciding once gives you an immediate answer which direction to head. It can also help spare precious fundraising time and energy for you and your team.
Areas to consider deciding once include:
Timing - For example, deciding once on event timing may look like knowing that save-the-dates are always mailed. Or maybe it’s knowing that donor acknowledgments are mailed once per week.
Responsibility - Deciding specific roles can make your team more efficient and effective. Start by making a list of every task in your specific departments and then work together to identify who will be responsible. This could look like knowing who will mail donor acknowledgements.
Data Analysis - First, decide the day you will review data, i.e at the end of the month, the 15th, etc. In reviewing data create IF, THEN statements to follow when certain thresholds are met. For example, IF we have not met 50% of our goal by June 1st, THEN we will execute Plan B, or IF regular donors don’t respond to the annual mailer by X, THEN they will receive an email follow-up by Z. Creating IF, THEN statements in relation to your data helps provide direction and allows you to plan ahead.
Zoom In and Zoom Out
Looking at the same details with multiple perspectives can help you and your team see the complete picture.
Zooming in may look like breaking sizeable tasks down into more manageable pieces or making a practice out of experiencing tactics as if you were new to the organization. It could also look like creating personal relationships with donors. Questions you can ask to Zoom in include:
What actions need to be taken to move this forward?
Which details matter most?
How will this impact the stakeholders day-to-day?
On the flip side, Zooming out is essential to big-picture decision making. When you are viewing a campaign or situation from far out, it can be easier to put things into context and see how the moving pieces will play into the big picture strategically.
Zooming out could look like scheduling time when your sole purpose is to look for trends in actual cash donations or donor communications. Or it could look like creating a 3-year plan. Questions you can ask to Zoom out include:
Why is the campaign or task worthy of support?
What is at stake if this is unsuccessful?
What else might be on the horizon?
Having the ability to zoom in both directions can help you get granular to address immediate needs while maintaining a strategic vision to guide overall fundraising efforts.
Each of these three habit practices not only enhance the efficiency of fundraising, but also contribute to a more resilient and adaptable organizational culture. Which habit practice is most applicable to your team or organization?
Carrie Zarotney is a Certified Human Potential Coach and Certified Mindfulness Workplace Facilitator who helps individuals and organizations manage stress and make change. Visit www.nurturedhealing.com to learn more about how she can help your organization.