I hear from them almost every day. Smart, hardworking, principled, mission-driven fundraisers.

They share examples of the mindless, myopic metrics visited on them by people who think leadership is demanding from others what they have never done and could not do themselves under the best of philanthropic circumstances. They assume holding fundraisers to unrealistic goals will produce better results when the most common result is the turnover of the mismanaged.

What so many organizational leaders don’t know about fundraising and philanthropy is astonishing.

They don’t know that:

• They’ve lost large tranches of donors because annual fundraising results have held steady or occasionally bumped up
• The donors they lost are unlikely to come back
• They have become dependent on fewer donors, the vast majority of whom will pass on in the next decade.
• More and more donors are asking for more rewarding giving experiences and more evidence of results
• Younger generations are not buying the same old fundraising propositions

The less they know:

• The more unreasonable the expectations they pile on their fundraisers
• The sooner they call into question their fundraisers’ abilities, often within a matter of months
• The more they discourage those who know the most about donors and philanthropy
• The more they cut themselves off from changing philanthropic realities
• The more they promote the turnover of the most capable and those with the most choices
• The more they create a kind of budgetary desperation that will discourage, dismay, and depress the giving of, if not drive away, more donors.

What they don’t know is hurting them more than they can know. And, yet, so few take the time to learn about changing philanthropic behaviors or ask themselves what they can do to improve fundraising performance.

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. 

Related Resources:

• Webinar: 4-Step Process for “Reimagining Fundraising Operations”
• The Power of Building Relationships: Why Donors Need Good Fundraisers
• Most Senior Fundraisers Don’t Need Training; They Need Treatment
• Why what you do is called ADVANCEMENT
• What They Don’t Teach in Fundraising School