By: Jon DeLange
For many pregnancy center leaders, fundraising can be a task that gets minimal attention since it sometimes appears complex, challenging, and cringey. The author of this article, Jon DeLange, has been the director of development at a multi-location pregnancy center, and often heard those dreaded words “We’re just the best kept secret in town!”
Here provides is a framework for identifying your simple case for support, committing to manageable daily actions, and cultivating your top 100 donor relationships.
A Simple Case for Support
Your 1-4 sentence logical case for support shows your donors the problem that needs to be solved, the solution you offer, and gives them a vision for a successful outcome. This needs to be a statement that you feel comfortable verbally sharing so it doesn’t get written and just collect dust on your website’s “About” page.
A great case for support addresses the 3 levels of problems that a family facing an abortion decision experiences: External, Internal, & Philosophical.
External Problem
This level refers to the physical situation that this family faces:
A Lack of support
A lack of finances
Pervasive messaging around the abortion pill, etc.
Internal Problem
This level refers to the emotions that this family feels about their situation:
Fear
Overwhelm
Shame
Desperation
Pressure
Uncertainty
Philosophical Problem
This level refers to the “should” of the situation, or the rightness or wrongness of what you do:
No mother should have to choose between staying in a relationship and the life of her child
Children have a right to be born
Abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being
Tying these three levels of problems together creates a case that addresses the entirety of your audience’s challenges in a way that a supporter can quickly grasp.
Ovarian Cancer Organization Awareness Example:
Ovarian Cancer is the deadliest female reproductive cancer. Most women miss key early warning signs since they are not aware of slight changes to their bodies.
Harts of Teal exists to help healthy women identify early warning signs of ovarian cancer.
We believe in a future where every woman can be in tune with her body, and that those who do have an ovarian cancer diagnosis should not be alone.
Your Daily Actions & Top 100
Now that we have a simple framework for talking about our mission, we move on to taking regular relational steps to invest in our key relationships.
Here is my challenge to you, committing to this effort will transform your fundraising:
Take 1 personal action every workday to make someone feel like a hero to your organization. Definition: A Call, Text, Visit, or Conversation.
“Someone” definition: Volunteer, Donor, Adoptive family, Foundation representative.
“Hero” definition: Someone who gets to see, feel, or participate in the positive work of the organization.
Where to start?
Gather your list of your top 100 relationships, and commit to stewarding these individuals well this year. If you do one step every work day, everyone on this list will hear personally from you at least twice in the coming year. This gratitude campaign sets the stage with existing donors who could give again. But what should I do with these 100? What if I run out of ideas? That’s where we move to next, unpacking a simple formula for relationship building.
The Champions Equation: How individual relationships are cultivated.
( I + R ) E² = C
Information Plus Relationship multiplied by Emotional Engagement equals Champions
Create a list of Informational and Relational Actions
Informational Ideas:
Annual Report
Compelling Story
Key Funding Priorities
Infographics
Relational Ideas
Staff introduction call or personal card
Personal visit
Live event invite (can even be unrelated to your organization - “come to the jazz festival with me next month”)
Birthday Card
Anniversary Card
Giving milestone celebration (10k given, 5 years, etc)
Send a voice memo and pray for their family.
These all can be enhanced by connection with emotional storytelling, hearing the partner recount their story, service at the organization, or meeting someone served by the organization.
Remember: You’ve made a big impact, and many followers will want to keep helping, but may not even know how to.
What to do next? Simplify your fundraising
If you’d like to explore growing your fundraising and marketing results, begin by using these principles in establishing a plan. You can effectively raise more money for your pregnancy center!
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