Five Tips for Fundraising Success
L. Scott Schultz, President
July 2007

The following is from a presentation S&W President Scott Schultz gave at the 2007 Franklin Forum sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals:

What makes for success in fundraising? In my 20 years as a consultant, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. Here’s my best advice to fundraisers:

1. Avoid fundraising in a black-box environment. Control or at least participate in all aspects of management planning, marketing/communications and board development. Be a player, not a spectator. Participate in setting the agenda you will be asked to support through fundraising.


2. Use technology and modern fundraising tools, including prospect research, e-news and online giving, to your greatest advantage. At the same time, stay in close, personal contact with your donors and volunteers. Technology is no substitute for personal contact and relationship-building activities. Modern marketing strategies are depersonalizing the practice of fundraising, which requires personal attention.
3. Donor acquisition and major gifts are the most important elements of fundraising. Yet they represent competing philosophies. The answer? Pursue both.
4. Be ambitious but take on goals you can achieve. Fundraising success leads to more success. Remember, however, that a string of successes can be overwhelmed by one failed campaign or program.
5. Be fully committed to your organization’s mission. The right fit is important. Stay in your position long enough to have a real impact on the organization you serve. At the same time, the fundraising profession requires many skills that can be acquired only through experience. Make sure you are learning everything you can in your job, and use your experience to build a career.

If you’d like to read more about the S&W fundraising philosophy, please click here.

Better yet, if you’d like to learn more about how S&W can help you and your organization achieve higher levels of fundraising success, please contact me at 215-625-9955 or sschultz@schultzwilliams.com.

Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm based in Philadelphia; providing management, fundraising and marketing consulting for nonprofit organizations, along with full-service direct marketing, database and creative/production services.