Boomerang Gift
One of the reasons that board members don’t like to ask their friends for gifts is the simple reason that those very same friends are going to come back to them and ask for a gift to their charity. It may have been a working model when there weren’t so many charities seeking major gifts, but it doesn’t work for building a strong base of support from your community today (read “Tribes” by Seth Godin — great book).
A few weeks back, I met with an 80+ year old donor who has given millions of dollars of gifts in his community. I asked him about a charity he supported in the past, and he said that he has his favorites and was going to stick with that group of charities. He then pointed to a large file on his desk and said, “those are the requests I’ve received in the last two months. . . I will respond to them, but they are not amongst my giving priorities.” He then said he is struggling with one charity though, because the request came from a dear friend who made a major gift to one of his favorite charities. The struggle was not whether he was going to do it but he felt compelled to give because of the gift he received from them. Do you want your donors to support you because of pressure from a friend or the mission of your organization? Is that a sustainable model?
Perhaps I’ve said it before but rarely have we asked board members to ask their friends for gifts. The onus of success falls on the executive working with the development team. Boards play a role, but our experience has not been to make the ask.
Boomerang gift giving will continue, but it is not a best practice especially since you are not an integral part of the relationship.
Are you taking ownership of your fundraising?
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow.
If we don’t grow, we are not really living.
Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.”
Written by: Paul D’Alessandro,
Founder and Chairman
D’Alessandro, Inc.
