Put Your Head Down and Power Through

The other day, I received an e-mail from the executive director of a small organization I work with once or twice a year. They’ve had a tough time lately. She wrote, “The economy killed us and it’s a miracle we’re still alive.”

Their last couple of mailings had a tepid response; their supporters simply weren’t giving like they had in the past.

Time to give up, right? Nope. I’m going to reveal my deep and abiding love for the late, great Arrested Development by quoting Michael Bluth: “We’ve just got to put our heads down and power through, people.”

My client downloaded the organization’s last six months to me. They have a lot of great things happening, despite the hardship. Demand for their flagship program is skyrocketing, and their nuts-and-bolts services haven’t slacked off, either. In fact, the only thing down about them is their income!

We put our heads together and came up with an “emergency” ask highlighting the tremendous success they’ve had with their flagship program. We’ll remind donors what the program is and tell them the tremendous, personal impact it’s having on communities nationwide. We’ll explain that the only way to keep this effective work going is if the donors help.

It’s too early to know yet whether their supporters will come through on this special appeal, but we’re all hopeful. (I’ll try to remember to keep you posted!)

But the thing that was so inspiring to me about this mailing was the fact that they never gave up. So often, when groups see their fundraising efforts tanking – even when they know there are external factors like a crummy economy or competing asks at work – they stop everything.

And that’s completely understandable. We all want to pull back and contract when the going gets tough.

But you won’t raise much money if you don’t ask.

So you’ve got to be more aggressive, more tenacious and more thorough. You’ve got to keep trying until you hit the giving sweet spot.

It may mean changing your approach. Sit down and look at all the ways you ask your donors for support and see if there’s any way you can improve them. Do your due diligence, then jump right back in. Sometimes, you just have to “put your head down and power through.”