The Power of Process:
How Fundraising Pros Make it Look Easy

A PROview Article by Arty Allen, Senior Vice-President

Successful brain surgery... flying the space shuttle... an over-goal fundraising campaign. Know what these have in common? The answer is that each is best done with precision and skill by a competent professional with plenty of experience. Admittedly, a fundraising campaign is not brain surgery or even rocket science. Our CEO has occasionally referred to our work as “rocket surgery,” however. Seriously, a failed campaign can be just as disastrous to a non-profit organization as an exploding rocket or botched brain surgery. So, what defines the right way versus the wrong way to conduct a campaign? Process: the absolutely right series of steps occurring in exactly the proper sequence.

Not everyone immediately grasps this concept. In fact, when our NCDS fundraising team first arrives in a community, leaders sometimes say to us, “Our community is different. You'll have to really think out of the box to raise money here.” Well, it is true that each community is different, as are its leaders, its geography, its economy, and the fundraising need. But the one thing that is rarely, if ever, different in every community is human nature. When it comes to raising money, human nature is basically the same, and believe me, you need a proven success, reliable skills and a deft touch to be successful.

Consistently successful NCDS campaigns follow the proven NCDS methodology that has been developed and continuously honed in more than 400 projects over our 25-year history. The process is simple; executing the process in diverse situations and communities is complex.

The process can be outlined on the back of a business card:

• Feasibility Analysis
• Program Refinement
• Case for Support
• Evaluations
• Leadership Enlistment
• Advance Solicitation
• Kickoff
• General Solicitation
• Close-out
• Victory Celebration

It is a deceptively simple process, but infinitely complex. So complex, in fact, that NCDS project managers utilize a detailed process manual that is the basis for their daily work. It is also used by NCDS’s home office to benchmark progress toward a campaign goal. How important is a properly executed process? Well, let’s say you make a miscue in one especially sensitive element of the process, leadership enlistment. Bungle that critical step in, say, week four, and you may not realize the disastrous consequences until week 26. By then, the campaign will be irretrievably in the proverbial ditch. Or skip an essential step like the evaluation of prospects, or get it out of sync with leader enlistment, and the campaign might never even make it to the kickoff event.

One of our savvy campaign directors pointed out in a recent training class (we call it Campaign Academy) that it was obvious to him that even slight alteration of a proven process will alter the outcome. That’s a true statement, But what about the danger of doing “cookie cutter” work? What about adaptability and flexibility? That’s where expertise comes in. Knowing (not guessing) about when a shortcut will work or how to finesse a difficult obstacle when the clock is rapidly ticking away is why fundraising is a profession. Professionals in any field often make a difficult, complicated task look easy don’t they? A moment’s reflection, however, reveals that every professional has a highly developed methodology behind the obvious talent or skill.

It is tempting for a non-profit organization to simply plunge in with a “let’s do it ourselves” attitude, especially when the task appears to be a “slam dunk.” But, when the stakes are high and the task is as complex as fundraising always is, a sure touch with a reliable process is the best option. It’s how the pros make it look easy.