Obstacles and Opportunities: Time and Effort

This week, I’m talking about knocking down those barriers we often put up that keep us from doing our best fundraising. Cost is usually the first reason I hear cited for not moving forward with a bold idea. But time and effort are right up there.

I just attended Wordstock, the Northwest's largest book and literary festival. Which is mounted by a paid staff of three.

Obviously, they didn't pull the whole thing off all on their own. But those three people coordinated board members, consultants, volunteers and committees, engaged teachers, drew writers, assembled literary panels and attended to the tremendous amount of detail required to create a weekend celebrating literary arts.

I’ve often watched people sit across from me in a meeting, rolling their eyes and crying, “That’s too much work!”

And quite often, they’re not wrong. I know the folks at Wordstock would certainly vouch for how much effort they had to expend over the last few months. When you’re working on a shoestring, with limited staff and old equipment, it can take a tremendous amount of work to accomplish almost anything.

One of my favorite quotes – something that sits on my desk as a reminder – is Nelson Mandela’s “It always seems impossible until it is done.”

So instead of moaning about the impossibility of the task, think instead about how you can break your project down into smaller, more doable tasks. Is there a way to ferret out new resources or forge new relationships to help make the project happen?

A big project is not an insurmountable task. It’s an opportunity to find new efficiencies, engage volunteers, uncover hidden talents, and build teamwork.

Got examples of people coming together to create something great, despite the hard work? I’d love to hear about it below!