Your cause is the MOST important cause in the world to someone.
Did you know that your cause is the MOST important cause in the world to SOMEONE?
Likely multiple someones.
Why is this important?
You have a choice about how you spend your time and energy.
You can spend your time trying to convince people to care about your cause, OR… you can spend your time attracting and connecting with the people whoalready care.
Seth Godin calls this being a “generous beacon, a signal flare sent up so that the people who are looking for you can easily find you.”
Too many people (fundraising staff, boards, organizational leaders, etc.) get this wrong WAY too often.
What does this look like? Usually this:
“[Prominent person in our community] has a lot of money. We should try to get a meeting with them to pitch them on what we do.”
I’ve been doing this a while, and I’ve yet to see a pitch convince someone to give who didn’t already care about the cause.
I have seen development officers, executive directors, and boards waste a ton of sideways energy chasing after people with no connection to their cause with little to show for it when all is said and done.
The good news?
You don’t have to convince people to care!
Why?
Because what you do (the problem you solve for the people you serve) is already the most importantthing in the world for enough people to fully accomplish your mission and vision.
Guess what else?
Those same people who care deeply about the things you care about are looking for you!
They are trying to get somewhere — trying to accomplish something.
They have a difference they want to make, and they’re looking for someone to help them make it.
They’re looking.
Are you sending up a signal flare to help them find you?