The Role of Control in Major Gift Fundraising
In major gift fundraising, there are some things you can NEVER control:
❌ You cannot control whether someone says YESor NO.
❌ You cannot control HOW MUCH or HOW OFTEN someone gives.
❌ You cannot control HOW MUCH or HOW LITTLE they want to be involved.
❌ You cannot control the AMOUNTsomeone decides to give.
❌ You cannot control where they are in their GENEROSITY JOURNEY.
❌ You cannot control the impact of the ECONOMYon their giving.
❌ You cannot control how PASSIONATEthey are about your cause.
❌ You cannot control whether they want to MEET WITH YOUor not.
❌ You cannot control the QUALITYof their interactions with every charity rep that’s come before you.
❌ And there are HUNDREDSof things you cannot control about your NONPROFITor PROGRAMS.
However, there are also many things you CAN control:
✅ You can control WHENyou ask.
✅ You can control HOW MUCHyou ask for.
✅ You can control WHETHER OR NOT you ask.
✅ You can control the QUESTIONSyou ask.
✅ You can control HOW OFTENyou reach out to people.
✅ You can control YOUR PRESENCEas you meet with people.
✅ You can control HOW YOU IMAGINEyour visits going.
✅ You can control HOWyou ask people to give.
✅ You can control WHOyou invite into the conversation.
✅ You can control HOW YOU PREPAREfor the visit.
Fundraising is a long game built on the back of thousands of tiny interactions and decision that build on each other over time.
Trust the process.
Control what you can control.
And everything else will take care of itself.
