It was one of those customer phone calls. A Monday morning special.
“We’ve always had good results with our VirtualGiving website,” the pleasant voice said. “But we have a new director and she decided to rewrite all the marketing materials herself. Website, advertisements, newsletters, all the brochures…” she trailed off apologetically.
This isn’t worth discussing, I told myself, watching a beautiful deer pass my window in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, but I tried one anyway. “Don’t you know your time is better spent going out and meeting prospects? You’ll spend half a year behind a desk writing and editing copy.”
“You’re right, I know you’re right, but we can’t change her mind.” And that was that.
Friends, it’s time to stop hiding behind your desks. DIY (a trendy acronym for “do it yourself”) won’t help your organization, your prospects, or your career. Let’s take a look at the time wasters the new CEO is putting in the way of doing her job, nurturing leads and closing giveaways. For your new planned giving website only:
- You’ll need to write technically accurate and compelling copy, then edit it, then submit it all the way up the review chain, including legal. Everyone’s opinion will mean a rewrite.
- There will be another round of editing before your artwork is approved. (“But, this doesn’t match our template…”)
- After the copy and layout are approved, you’ll sit down for long sessions with IT (you want logical navigation and guidance to guide your site visitors; IT isn’t sure what that means, but has 12 jobs waiting before that I can get to yours) .
- The site is active! Congratulations. Now, remember to keep your web presence up to date with new donor testimonials, fee changes, tax updates, etc.!
Why go through a routine like this, when you get paid to burn shoe leather by going to your prospects’ front doors? Are you trying to cut costs? Convinced that you can do it better than anyone? Following an old playbook? (First, study planned giving; then sell your Board on them; then assemble an Advisory Committee; then write your marketing; then wait for responses.) Let me try to remove some of the barriers that prevent you from leaving your office:
Cash costs.Do you think that doing it yourself will save money? you won’t Many operations spend six to eighteen months getting their own designed websites up and running, only to be less than satisfied with the final results.
Opportunity costs. Developing marketing tools in-house incurs opportunity costs in the form of missed contacts, missed leads, and unclosed gifts while you and your staff are busy at work. Doing it yourself means turning yourself and your staff into part-time copywriters, graphic artists, and web designers. Is that an efficient use of your time and skills?
I can do better. It may be so. But fundraising isn’t a hobby, it’s your job. You are paid to prioritize your talents to build the financial strength of your organization. Which of the tasks you could do this morning will best accomplish that goal?
Control issues. Our recent survey showed a very high correlation between prospects visited, gifts closed, and PGO salary. It makes sense. So why do some fundraisers obsess over administrative issues? Be an entrepreneur and let yourself go!
The minutiae can keep you behind your desk as you try to make every ad, every gift description, every holiday letter “perfect.” Meanwhile, life and its prospects go on. We tell our clients to strive for excellence, not perfection.
I’m following the playbook.Planned giving is no longer new to your prospects. You have already heard from ten different sources about how gift annuities work. So you don’t have to listen to advice from thirty years ago on how to launch your planned giveaway campaign in slow motion.
…And don’t make me start waiting to go public until you have Gift Acceptance Policies in place. Yes, it helps to have written guidelines about who does what when a prospect offers you an out-of-the-ordinary gift, like an igloo farm at the North Pole. But that can wait a bit, right?
Delay. Anxious because you don’t know the gift plans? Alright; we understand. You can cool off! But don’t let it become an excuse. After all, Mrs. McGillicuddy isn’t that tough and she would love a visit from you. Go ahead, she picks up that phone, then wears down the leather on your shoes.
