I have known dozens of capable, experienced fundraising professionals during my career who have enjoyed early success then plateaued, sometimes for seemingly inexplicable reasons. They reach a level of prospect visits, of proposals presented, of dollars raised, and get stuck there, year after year.
It usually hasn’t been due to a lack of concern, certainly not a lack of talent. But I have noticed a common denominator among many of them. They stop learning. They stop stretching. Inertia sets in.
I suspect some get into a chicken-or-egg conundrum, thinking ‘If I learned more about (pick a topic) my results might improve but I don’t have time/energy to do that.’ That’s a classic example of inertia.
I have come to the conclusion that inertia is the secondary effect of a primary problem – fear. In the case of fundraisers, the result of three fears.
Fear of failure. ‘If I don’t tell my new suspected donor why I want to visit I won’t risk being turned down.’ This creates a dangerous sort of inertia, in which the fundraiser rarely even gets out of the office.
Fear of the unknown. ‘If I don’t learn the rudiments of federal tax law I won’t risk giving a wrong answer to a prospective donor.’ The result is inertia, both in learning and in expanding donor assessment skills.
Fear of rejection. ‘If I just ask for simple outright gifts and pledges rather than gift planning conversations I won’t risk the embarrassment of not being able to explain the details of real estate gifts or the benefits of life income gifts.’ The result of this sort in inertia is a lot of giftable assets left on the table. The fundraiser stays on the performance plateau, giving himself permission only to glimpse what lies beyond rather than pursue it.
The solution to each—the solution to inertia — is the same. Learn and grow. Learn the basic tools of your trade and how to use them. Keep those tools sharp (with a tip of the hat to Stephen Covey’s seventh habit of highly successful people – Sharpen the Saw). Practice. Read. Go to conferences and professional meetings. Participate in, or create, in-house training. Experience failure, rejection, and the unknown in a safe place, among colleagues who can coach, who can empathize.
But how do learning and growth overcome inertia? Reflect on the spark of excitement you felt when you identified a promising prospective donor, the feeling of accomplishment you experienced when you closed a major gift. It’s that excitement, that pride in achievement that motivates learning and growth. Take even the smallest success and build on it. Success begets success. Motivation overcomes inertia.