The Extreme Fundraising Blog

In the last few posts, we’ve been gleaning from Seth Godin’s latest book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick).

If you’ve determined that you can be best in the world and that you are truly in a dip, not a cul-de-sac and not panicking, then you simply get to push through the dip.

Being in the Dip isn’t comfortable. Unfortuntately, too much quitting is done by people in the Dip. Most people think “If it hurts, I’ll just stop.” The short-term benefit outweighs any consideration of long-term payoff. As Seth says:

Short-term pain has more impact on most people than long-term benefits do, whixh is why it’s so important for you to amplify the long-term benefits of not quitting.

If you really can be “best in the world” but aren’t yet seeing the results you want, don’t give up until you’ve pushed through. Remind your board what the benefits of a strong fundraising program are and why yours can be “best in the world.” Celebrate whatever successes you have. (That’s easy to do if you’ve incorporated the Creating Donor Evangelists strategies.)

And keep reminding yourself of the long-term benefits. Our culture is geared to “look for the best.” If you’re the best, it’s easier to raise money. You’ll no longer have to say “We’re just like XYZ organization but different…” You will be XYZ organization–the one they already know!

You may not be at that point yet, but you can be. You’ve got what it takes.

The problem is that only a tiny portion of the audience is looking for the brand-new thing. Most people are waiting for the tested, the authenticated, and the proven (p. 49).

That’s why it pays off to move through the Dip.

Don’t fall in love with a tactic and defend it forever. Instead, decide once and for all whether you’re in a market or not. And if you are, get through that Dip (p.51).

According to Godin, the opposite of quitting is “rededication.”

So for the rest of this summer, since you’ve committed to being the best in the world, next commit yourself to rededicating to doing what you’re doing. Fearlessly ask if you need to change tactics. Read books, go to seminars, hire a coach.

(Yeah, that last was a shameless plug. But since the ROI on coaching is 300% so the investment is incredibly smart. Coaching studies are available in the “articles” section of Fundraisingcoach.com. )

In our last post, Fundraising in the Dip, we exlpored Seth Godin’s thoughts on “dips” and “cul-de-sacs” from his latest book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick).

Today, let’s look at the 3 questions Seth recommends we ask before we quit.

1. Am I Panicking?
“Quitting is not the same as panicking. Panic is never premeditated. Panic attacks us, it grabs us, it is in the moment. Quitting when you’re panicked is dangerous and expensive.”

Godin says that the best quitters always choose to quit before hand. At year-end, or any time we see our fundraising falling short of our goals, we may panic. But jumping ship in panic is not what quitting is about.

2. Who Am I Trying To Influence?
Are you trying to succeed in a market?…If you’re trying to influence just one person, persistence has its limits…If you’re trying to influence a market, though, the rules are different.

This is worth the price of the book. More than that. In fundraising we often get focused on individual prospects. So focused, that we forget we’re really trying to influence an entire community. Rather than getting a gift, our goal should be becoming the charity of choice for our typical constituent.

Read that one twice. It’s that good.

3. What Sort Of Measurable Progress Am I Making?
If you’re trying to succeed in a job or a relationship or at a task, you’re either moving forward, falling behind, or standing still. There are only three choices.

If money is the only measure of our success, we’re in trouble. No matter how much we raise, it’s never enough. Our board or boss or our own inner voice will want us to raise more.

But money is like a harvest. In my seminars, I stress that fundraising is pretty agricultural. A farmer can’t just go harvest. He needs to till the soil, plant seeds, tend the seeds, etc.

If all you’re measuring is the harvest, chances are great that you’re neglecting identifying good soil, tending the seed, etc.

If you’re simply in the Dip, the harvest of may not be there yet. But if you’re making quality contacts, cultivating them, and stewarding those that have given, the harvest is probably just around the corner.

Panicking, influencing, and measuring. As you look forward to the next 12 months, how can you work these into your plan?

The Chronicle on Philanthropy has an interesting blurb on a new term for donors: yawn.

Here’s a taste:

Using a term coined in Great Britain, columnist Robert Frank says extremely rich young people who live humbly and give most of their wealth to charity are “yawns,” writing in an opinion article for The Wall Street Journal.

Yawns are defined “young and wealthy but normal” people in their 30s and 40s who are millionaires many times over or even billionaires. Mr. Frank says these individuals live modestly, devote considerable resources to philanthropy, and tend to be very dull.

This picture went with a very flattering article in the paper today.

The reporter did a great job. I only wish he’d included the fact that I said “us” and “we” in the interview, not “I” and “me.” Fundraising is a TEAM sport!

Either way, I’m flattered. I’m sure it takes a HUGE chunk out of my 15 minutes of fame.

In honor of Independence Day here in the USA, we’re having a sale on all Creating Donor Evangelists products. For the NEXT 14 DAYS ONLY, all CDE audio products are being offerend for 20% off. [From now until July 17!]

Just go to The Fundraisingcoach.com Store.

To claim your discount, just enter the discount code JULY4 in the appropriate box.

Feel free to pass this gift on to your friends!

But hurry, it’s only for the next 14 days. And it’s only at the
Fundraisingcoach.com Store
http://fundraisingcoach.com/store.htm

[7/12 Only 5 days left!]

Many of us experienced the end of the fiscal year on June 30th. Before taking a well deserved vacation, this is a great time for catching our breath and re-assessing our position. Some of what I’m currently reading, Seth Godin’s new book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), may provide a great launching point.

In a very brief summary, Godin posits that all worthwhile endeavors go through “The Dip.” The Dip helps sort half-hearted attempts from the truly world-class efforts. “Most consumers…,” writes Godin, “wait for something to be standardized, tested, inexpensive, and ready for prime time” (p. 48). You may be popular with a few early adopters, but to be “best in the world,” you need to go through the Dip, as hard as it may be. Only after proving yourself, will others feel comfortable joining you or donating to your cause.

This is so important to us in the nonprofit world. As I told my new friends at the Lowcountry Chapter of the AFP, we’re all in this world because we’re passionate about our cause. We love helping kids, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, spreading social justice, helping women start businesses, providing excellent arts, preserving land…and doing what we all do.

The causes are so good, we feel we shouldn’t need to fundraise. People should just “get it.” If they don’t, they should be able to come to their senses based on a website or a brochure.

But that isn’t how it happens, is it?

Incredible as it may be to us, people aren’t throwing money at our cause. Or if our cause is huge, it may seem that everyone is giving to that other organization rather than us.

According to Godin, this is where we need to decide if we’re in a Dip or a Cul-de-sac. A cul-de-sac is a dead end; a Dip is simply part of the journey. You’re in a cul-de-sac if you can’t become the “best in the world” at what you do.

Take some time to think of what your “world” is. Can you be best in the world at it? If not, you’re in a dead end.

The only thing to do in a dead end is to quit. Well, the only sane thing. Unfortunately, most of us prefer to endure the persistent pain of mediocrity rather than pressing on to greatness. But people and organizations that make the greatest difference, and reap the greatest rewards, are those that are “superstars,” best in the world.

Quitting takes guts. But if you’re in a cul-de-sac quitting is a very real, and can be an incredibly freeing, option.

If you’re not in a cul-de-sac, you’re in the Dip. Quitting in the dip would be incredibly dumb. You’ve come too far to give up now. If you find yourself in the Dip, the only sensible thing to do is to press on and push through. When you come out on the other side, you’ll be one of the very few organizations that will have come through the Dip. And you’ll be reaping the rewards of being world-class, including getting to help the people you help in more ways than you ever thought possible.

In our next issue, we’ll look more at committing to going through the dip. But for now, ask yourself:

Can you be best of the world at what your doing?

What is so special about your nonprofit? How can it be best in the world?

While you’re at it, what is your world?

[If you’d like to pursue this more between this issue and the next, check out my blog post Church Planting in the Dip and the accompanying links. Or you could buy your own copy of The Dip!]