How many people do you need to connect with each week?
Are you responsible for stewarding relationships with people who give to your organization?
Here’s a fun fundraising math problem.
How many people do you need to connect with each week?
The answer depends on your answer to two questions:
1. How many relationships are you responsible for stewarding?
and
2. How many times per year do you want to connect with each of those people?
Answer those questions and the math is simple.
Take the number of relationships you’re responsible for, divide it by the number of weeks you work in a year (don’t forget to subtract for time off), and multiply it by the number of times you want to connect with each person.
Are you responsible for 100 relationships? Do you want to connect with each person once a year?
Assuming 2 weeks of vacation, the math looks like this:
100 relationships / 50 weeks per year = 2 people per week
To meet with 100 people over the course of a year, you would need to connect with 2 people each week.
This is simple math, but finding the right frequency can be a bit more difficult.
Once a year? Likely not enough.
Once a month? Probably too often.
What would it take to connect with 100 people 4 times per year (quarterly)?
100 relationships / 50 weeks per year X 4 times per year = 8 people per week
Does this feel overwhelming?
If so, the math also works in reverse.
How many relationships could you steward well if you were connecting with 3 people per week?
3 people per week x 50 weeks per year / 3 times per year = 50 relationships
What difference do you think it might make if you were actively stewarding relationships with 50 people who care about your cause?
What would need to happen for you to connect with 8 (or 6 or 10 or 3) people per week?
What would need to change? How might your rhythms or routines need to shift?
What actions could you take to move one small step forward in this direction today?
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Do you enjoy hashtag#FundraisingFriday? Are you looking for more ways to grow as a fundraiser? Let’s meet in Atlanta next month!
I’m hosting a half-day pre-conference workshop called Asking Without Fear: Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Fundraising as part of the CAFO Summit in Atlanta on September 28 and I’d love to see you there!
Learn more and register here.