Everyone knows that fundraising is a numbers game. Meeting with 20 people is good, meeting with 200 is better. And if we could just have the emotional and physical energy to go door-to-door selling our cause - hey! - what could be better?!
Actually, that's not fundraising. That's what here in NYC they call schnoring. You might as well be wandering through the garment district with a tin can trying to build the Jewish Homeland in Palestine. Charity, fundraising and the American public have all come quite a long way since 1947. So has the "numbers game".
With all of this new-fangled technology we have today, rolodexes are fatter than they've ever been (well, if they were still printed on those little cards they would be). In fact, thanks to our blogs, e-mail contacts, social-media accounts etc. we have access to more eyes and ears than we know how to handle.
We, as a Americans, are also more charitable than we've ever been. We're more exposed to a larger variety of causes. It's more convenient to give than it's ever been. And greater level of donor relations is keeping the givers actively involved with the institutions they support.
An organization that is properly using out its network is playing the "numbers game" by the rules. If they're using out their network's contacts they're ahead of the curve. Of course, this all takes tons of attention and hard work.
Still beats knocking on doors.
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