“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe,” said wise Old Abe. Let me apply that precept to fundraising.
Give me a year to raise a certain amount and I will spend the first eleven months listening, engaging, aligning interests.
Give me five years to stage a campaign and I will spend the first three building community, customizing engagement, and co-creating high impact initiatives.
Give me ten years to build a stronger community of shared purpose and I will spend most of my time developing the lifelong potential – measured in time, talent and treasure – of the best people (not always the wealthiest) that I can find.
Give me 30 years to make a lasting difference and I will continuously improve the organization’s efficiency in converting private investment into societal gain and in achieving fuller transparency.
Allow me to work on these purposes and I will raise more, build more and leave more than a 1000 who only want to sharpen their ask. They will chop or shake down young fruit trees well before their peak period and chop off the foot of their greater potential in the process but I will leave an orchard behind that will bear abundant philanthropic fruit as long as it is tended by those who use their time as I have.
The greatest yields come from the wisest investments of time.
Jim Langley is the president of Langley Innovations. Langley Innovations provides a range of services to its clients to help them understand the cultural underpinnings of philanthropy and the psychology of donors and, with that knowledge, to develop the most effective strategies and tactics to build broader and more lasting communities of support. Jim has authored numerous books, including his most recent book, The Future of Fundraising: Adapting to New Philanthropic Realities, published by Academic Impressions in 2020.
