A friend once asked me how long it would take to get his organization ready for a capital campaign. A rather curious question, so I asked, “Can you tell me more about what it means to be ready?”
We can all empathize with this situation and it gets close to the heart of the matter when it comes to developing authentic donor relationships. My response was, “It feels like you are wanting to get married on the first date.”
Not the reaction he was expecting, but it was certainly an a-ha moment nonetheless.
This story reminds us that developing authentic donor relationships requires time and effort. While tools can help, a flashy brochure or high-end video cannot replace real, honest-to-goodness relationship building. Every donor is at a different stage of relationship with an organization. Some are ready to give now, some later, and some even later still.
Developing authentic donor relationships is a three-step process:
- Initiating a relationship that is built on a shared sense of purpose and trust.
- Developing the relationship takes constant effort by finding natural ways to connect the donor and the organization together.
- Sustaining this relationship takes creativity and the opportunity for donors to see how they are helping fulfill the organization’s mission.
It takes time to develop truly transformative relationships with donors, especially if you remember that it is the donor’s mission as well.
In the coming months, I’ll take a deeper dive into the three steps for authentic donor relationship building outlined above. In the meantime, please share your comments and questions in the area below. If you’d like to connect with me more directly, please reach me at (877) 771-3330, ext. 15.
Learn more about my background and core competencies.
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