Cultivating relationships

We are now a third of the way through the year, so it is time to evaluate your fundraising so far, figure out some changes that need to be made, and for you to let us know how we can help!
We have two great resources that we want to tell you about. Hopefully both of them will help you consider how to cultivate your relationships with your donors more deeply and effectively. 

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1. Fully Funded - our first resource! We have mentioned this resource before, but they are worth repeating. 

In their first podcast, Fully Funded discusses our natural rhythm for relationships. The rhythm goes like this: First we get to know someone, then decide whether or not we like them. Once this is established, we take the first steps to trust them. Trusting them leads us to try them out (whether a person or an organization); this is accomplished by exploring what they have to offer. 

It is only after our (potential) donors have walked through all the steps above (know, like, trust, and try us out) that they will feel compelled to give.

So often people raising funds want supporters to move directly from knowing to giving, which is where the breakdown in relationship cultivation occurs. When we stop being in a hurry, when we truly care for supporters and allow them the grace to follow the steps above, the opportunity to take the cultivated relationships further happen in these two steps: supporters become repeat givers and they begin referring other givers. On the other hand, when we rush the natural rhythm of relationships, we typically can't move people from knowing to giving.

This may seem like a long process but it’s the only real way to grow your donor base.
But how do we start?
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Here’s a good place to begin: if you haven’t done this before, or if it's been awhile, pull up a spreadsheet and make a list of names of all the people with whom you would like to have a relationship with your ministry in the first column.

​In the second column, list whether they are cold, warm, or hot in their relationship with your ministry. In column three list which step of a natural relationship rhythm you are in with each name - know, like, trust, try, give (or even repeat or referring). Decide what course of action each name will require to move them a step further in your relationship, both in temperature and in the natural rhythms of relationship. Try to keep in mind that the relationship is the goal, not the giving. The giving will just be a natural overflow. 

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2. Scott Morton - serving as an International Funding Coach for The Navigators (an international college campus ministry).

Scott is an amazing man who has a talent for making hard things easy. He provides a lot of great resources at  www.scottmorton.net. Scott recently wrote a blog using an illustration of mindfully improving your golf game after a difficult day on the course that can be seamlessly applied to fundraising - here are his three easy steps:

1. Go to the clubhouse and you order a cold drink - relax, unwind, give yourself a chance to clear up some headspace.
2. As you relax, take out your scorecard, study it, look for patterns that need to be broken. Look specifically for mistakes made that cost you dearly - too many putts, a string of bad drives, scuffed shots, and so on.
3.  Make notes on how to improve one thing for your next round. 

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Know, Like, Trust, Try, Give, Repeat, Refer  +  Cultivate Card
​= Intentional Relationships

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Tips for your Cultivate Card  
(Adapted from Scott Morton's Up Till Now report)

1. Download the Cultivate Card below. :)
2. Only report those to whom you have already appealed. (Do not include those you hope to ask in the future, you can't rate yourself on those appeals yet!)
3. Include the date of the appeal and the type of appeal. Follow the code at the bottom. F=Face-to-face, P=Phone, L=Letter, G=Group appeal, E=Electronic or Social Media, WO=Walk On (donors who started giving without an appeal). Some appeals may be a combination, such as asking in a letter and following up by phone (L/P). Studying the appeal types helps you know which ones are most effective.
4. Check your spreadsheet to see where you're at in your relationship rhythm with each of these supporters: Know, Like, Trust, Try, Giver, Repeat, Refer, and list it in the last column.
5. Total up the amount raised in "Amount Raised" and "Amount One Time". Also total the number of "no gifts" - this will be a good number to see.
6. Analyze what your “Cultivate Card” tells you. What is one thing you can improve upon before you make one more phone call or meet with another supporter?

Download your cultivate card
​and get started today!

Cultivate Card.docx
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File Type:	docx

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Cultivate Card.pdf
File Size:	49 kb
File Type:	pdf

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