Keeping my eyes on the prize

We have all heard this before.

In fundraising, the prize is our budget. We have to ensure that our agency (or whoever we are fundraising for) gets to the amount of revenue that is in the budget.

I do that by constantly creating, growing, nurturing and sometimes letting go of relationships.

Relationships are key to the success of my development plan and to my goal of getting to the prize. When I put focus and energy into relationships, challenges I seem to be having go away.

When I lose focus and start getting bat crazy about this thing or that thing or this person or that person, I totally take my eyes off of the prize.

I do this a lot. Not all of the time and certainly not most of the time, but I do get drawn in to drama, sometimes drama of my own making. There is honestly no place in fundraising for drama. It is toxic.

Less drama, more eyes on the prize.

Get that year end appeal out.

Thank the donors who donated yesterday.

Meet with my team about what we are all working on, even though we just met a couple of days ago.

Call a donor just to chat.

Put some time into the fundraising dinner.

Ask team members if they need any of my support to ensure success in what they are working on.

There are many things we have no control over as fundraisers. In the end, we have to raise money. In the end it's the relationships we have created that matter.

Now you've seen what my list is to keep my eyes on the prize. What does your list look like?


Thank you for reading!