Bad Attitudes

Let's say that your organization enjoys a good deal of notoriety, lots of grass roots support, and is known for being effective and well-run. Surely there's nothing that could stand in the way of successful fundraising, right?

Right...?

Actually, in spite of the many finer aspects of many mosdos, there is a terribly strong poison that will turn advantages into liabilities every time. Bad attitude.

I met with board members of one such mosad to discuss how they could boost their fundraising which, to my utter surprise, has been disfunctional for a number of years. They are known for being a "class act" kind of organization, and I was more than a little dumbfounded when it seemed that a few basic and essential fundraising elements were not in place - but could easily be. 



The real problem soon became clear. One of the principal members of the board apparently has strong opionions, must of them negative. Below are my proposed solutions on how to keep this fabulous organization afloat:

1. You have a large and involved (and influential) board. Great - use them out! They should be fundraising!
2. You have a huge volunteer base. Work with them! They can make connections for you! Who are their friends, family, etc.?
3. You have helped hundreds and hundreds of people over the past 20 years. Ask them to give back to the organization!
4. You have generated tons of goodwill. Howsabout using direct mail, your whopper e-mail list and social media to expand your base?

And here are their respective terutzim, in order (read with an aire of complacency and cynicism).

1. We've turned to the board in the past. We've used up their contacts.
2. We can't ask that of our volunteers, they'll leave us!
3. What?! We can't approach them! That would seem manipulative!
4. I hate getting those letters and e-mails. They're just a nuisance. I throw them out.

There you have it. Now that one bad attitude has excluded the board, volunteers, their clients and general public from the fundraising plan, I think their going to need a killer bake sale.