Then one day, with a new Executive Director at the helm, the Director of Development & Alumni Affairs at a local university conducted a fundraising workshop for the small agency's staff and board members. You see, unlike many other smaller charities, this one had database of 1,200 faithful, long time donors! This fact excited the workshop facilitator to such an extent that the Nominations Committee had little trouble enticing her to join the Board.
Once on the Board, the professional fundraiser helped the smaller charity to start thinking like a larger charity, and, within five years the agency had increased its annual fundraising budget from $60,000 to $220,000, had moved to new and safer quarters with donors funding the accompanying expenses, and had received two donations, totalling $100,000 toward establishing an endowment fund.
Three years after receiving those first two donations, at their 30th anniversary celebration, the agency unveiled its $350,000 endowment fund. And, thanks to a community-based Planned Giving Committee, aided by the organization's active involvement in their local Leave A Legacy Committee, this smaller charity now knows of other substantial planned gifts awaiting them, and is working to promote many more.
While this accomplishment is substantial for any charity, it is close to miraculous for a smaller one whose work often is seen as controversial, prompting donors to request anonymity.
Once a part time Fundraising Co-ordinator position was approved and filled, the Board's fundraising professional and the Executive Director, through a series of phone calls and personal visits, were able to determine the donors' motivation for giving and keep them apprised on matters of importance to them.
They also learned that many of these donors had been holding back on letting the agency know that they didn't give more because the where never asked to do so, and assumed that their gift offered the help the agency needed. In fact, several donors indicated that they were at the point of stopping their support because they received contact only when the agency wanted their money.
Had this agency, therefore, not adopted this donor-relations focus, these rewarding and fruitful relationships would have ended for no reason other than a failure to communicate.
The donor-charity relationship, like any other, depends upon two-way communication to keep it healthy. No matter the size of the charity, only by placing an emphasis on donor communications and inviting the donors to stay engaged will the donor-charity relationship grow.