Blogging From the Fundraising School: Some Basic Principles

This week at the Fundraising School in Indianapolis has been an intense learning experience for me with 37 other development professionals from all over the country. The course is called Principles and Techniques of Fundraising and gives a survey of the different fundraising methods and planning processes involved in raising funds for our nonprofits. There are students here from large organizations as well as start-ups and we're all learning something from each other. The main thing I've learned was that although everyone in the room has different missions, the principles of fundraising are the same. Whether you are in human services, environmental and conservation issues, or work for university advancement, you still have to learn some basic ideas about fundraising and ethics to guide your work. I share some of these basic principles we've talked about that have set a context for me in my fundraising work, including:

The key to success in fundraising is getting the right person to ask the right prospect, in the right way, for the right reason, at the right time, for the right amount.

If you are meeting a community need, you have an obligation to ask people for money.

We must constantly ask ourselves as fundraisers, how can I involve more people with my organization?

No connection = no gift

Fundraising is essentially a management process.

Whoever spends money in your organization should be involved in raising money for it.