The best way to predict the future is to invent it

I was tired of waiting.
When I was just a donor, I was frustrated with the letters, newsletters, and emails I received from my beloved charities. They were insulting. Off-putting. And downright offensive.
They broke my heart.
 
So I turned my ship in another direction.
I used my marketing expertise to invent new ways of doing things. I had no idea what they were saying in the echo-chambers of the fundraising industry. At that point, I had never read a book or attended a conference on fundraising. But I wanted to develop a new future. One that didn’t tick people off driving them to hop from charity to charity relentlessly searching for one that would treat them right.
And, as I explored this new realm, I discovered that fundraising actually is marketing, customer service and sales. What fundraisers expect from Apple is exactly what donors expect from fundraisers.
Therefore, the new concepts and technologies I invented were not really that new at all. In fact, private businesses were already using some of the technologies I invented. In the end, my invention was really just to on-ramp existing technologies into the nonprofit space.
 
Now, I can predict the future.
I know where the fundraising industry is headed because I’ve decided to steer it that way and here are my predictions for the future:

• More focus on engagement; Less focus on asking
• More stress on simplicity; Less on complexity, legalese, and fancy talk
• More prominence is given to proving impact; Less on bragging about how awesome your organization is
• More empowerment, access, and transparency for supporters’ who want to get involved; Less secrecy and conniving
• More emphasis on retention and the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 Rule); Less on acquisition and dissipation
• More tracking of your supporters’ interests, wants, needs and desires (the way Amazon and Netflix do it); Less ignorance
• More relevant and personalized communications; Less one-size-fits-all
• More effective outreach at greatly reduced costs; Less waste
• MORE REVENUE ACQUIRED MORE EFFICIENTLY

 
There you go, that’s the future of fundraising. 
Now the only question is: Will you be part of it?

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