Friday, August 26, 2011

What do you NEED?

In this day and age, at least for me, I've had to lower my fundraising expectations.

That's a lot for me to admit.

I'm used to annual million-dollar increases, finding ways to get everyone to give more, and creating new revenue streams.

But that's just not the reality for a lot of organizations these days.

Executive directors, boards, and volunteers need and can find success in lowering their expectations and asking for what they NEED, not what they WANT.

When setting your corporate sponsorship levels - especially for newer projects that don't have a lot of buzz associated with them - ask yourself, what is the lowest amount that I NEED in order to make this project happen? What do I NEED to cover my expenses. What do I NEED for this project to be successful and for board members and volunteers to walk away from this feeling good?

Start from where you're at.

Forget that other people are getting 10k or 20k for their gold-level sponsorships. If you only need 5k, ask for 5k.

Lowering your expectations is a great way to be successful and give yourself room to grow, even in a difficult economy.

Even for a hyper-competitive guy like me.

Have you lowered your expectations? How'd that work out?