As a nonprofit organization or ministry, you have plenty of things to worry about and take care of. Working towards your mission, engaging donors and volunteers, running your programs. Communicating with your board members, keeping the lights on. . . the list probably feels endless at times.
Look, we know being told “don’t worry” almost never works. It’s like being told to not think of an elephant. And, honestly, there are always going to be things that you should worry about.
But there are things that nonprofit fundraisers worry about, that they shouldn’t be worried about.
It’s not a full list, but here are 3 things you shouldn’t spend time worrying about:
- Bugging your donors. This is something nonprofit organizations worry about a lot. They don’t want to annoy their donors by sending mail or email too often. This often leads to ministries being afraid of sending any type of letter or email to their donors. Even worse, it can lead ministries to not asking them to give.
- Why You shouldn’t worry: Your donors want to hear from you! They care about your mission and what you’re fighting every day to do in the world. That’s why they connected with you in the first place. We all love seeing how our support is making an impact. And because they care about what you care about, donors want to know when there’s an opportunity for them to help.
2. Not educating donors enough. This is another common worry. You’re an expert and have all the knowledge about the problem and why your organization’s approach is effective. Many fundraisers want to make sure they’re educating donors on the background of issues, so donors have all the relevant information they need to decide to give. It’s a tough line to walk between keeping them in the dark and boring them.
- Why You Shouldn’t Worry (too much): Think back to when you were in school and listening to lectures. Do you remember much of it? Probably not. But think about how easy it is to remember details from a documentary or movie. It’s easier to learn and listen through a story, not a lecture. So if you focus on using stories to communicate “education pieces” like program details or the background of the issue, donors will pick up the details and remember them.
3. Using blue ink or black. This may sound like a silly thing to worry about, but it’s not really about the ink color. It’s when an organization becomes too focused on branding. Yes, creating brand standards is helpful and has benefits. But getting too focused on these can limit your team’s creativity.
- Why you shouldn’t worry: Donors aren’t going to care whether you use black or blue ink. They won’t be motivated to give because you only use specific Pantone colors in your appeals. These are miniscule details that don’t build or deepen relationships with donors. So don’t focus on it too much. Keep your focus on things that will affect donors and your relationship with them.
Hopefully this helps remove a couple of items from your worry list. Yes, you’re always going to have something to worry and stress about. But try to save your energy by not focusing on these small things.
Comments or questions? Reach out to us at: howdy@oneicity.com–our inbox is open, even in the middle of the night.
Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash
