How do you raise beyond what you thought possible during your next campaign?
Whether it’s a dinner, a ‘matched giving’ campaign, or any other type of fundraiser, how can you raise significantly more than you have done in the past?
I call it your ‘Largest Possible.’
It works like this:
With all the right efforts and conditions for success…
What is the ‘Largest Possible’ $ (or £ or ₪) amount you could courageously aim to raise in your upcoming campaign?
Think Big.
With all the right elements in place, what is a very bold goal for you?
There is normally an amount that springs to mind. If your last xyz campaign raised $300K, could you raise $400K this time? If it was $600K, could you raise $1M this year?
What about if you know you did everything possible in your last campaign. ‘What more can I do?’ you may be thinking. For this exercise, don’t be held back by past performance or locked-in thinking.
- Right now, ask yourself, ‘What is my ‘Largest Possible?’
NOW make it a reality. Verbalize it. Write it out:
e.g., “My ‘Largest Possible’ goal in our next xyz campaign will be to raise $ _________.”
If you’re in… If you feel committed to what you’ve decided… (and it may take a few days or more), then share your ‘Largest Possible’ with your staff, your team and your board.
Get your internal stakeholders to buy in first.
Sharing your ‘LP’ is the beginning of it becoming a reality, together with much tefillah and siyata d’Shmaya.
- Alongside this, you’ll need to figure out HOWyou’re going to raise this much more.
Take a blank piece of paper. Write at the top – ‘How do I add an extra (write in your LP amount) $xxx,xxx to this year’s campaign?’
Be open minded to how you’ll accomplish this.
Question your beliefs you’ve held previously about what is possible. Reconsider ideas you’ve rejected in the past.
Have you not been open to adopting a new idea that you should now reconsider?
What elements will you consider adding this year to make this happen?
Get advice. Ask others who have been more successful than you.
- How did they do it?
- Who did they speak with?
- What was the game changer for them?
If you don’t have a board, (or even if you do), bring some new talent around the table to give you guidance.
Also, consider that to raise more, you often have to invest more.
This could be on more manpower, tech, or consulting. And make sure to consider any innovations in fundraising that could increase what you raise.
Right now, if you’ve been able to express your ‘Largest Possible’ already, you’ve done exceptionally well.
If you haven’t managed to articulate your ‘LP’ goal yet, then make it something you will revisit until you do.
Email me if you have any questions. And feel free to share your ‘Largest Possible’ with me to make it one step more toward reality.
B’hatzlacha raba!
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