In Fundraising Comms, Why Start With Donors' 'Why'?

I've been working on a fundraising communications strategy for a university client over the past several months. Recently, I visited their campus for some tours and interviews to support the effort.

Over an introductory breakfast, I asked the development team what points they wanted me to focus on during my visit—specifically, what information they felt they couldn't obtain on their own. As we talked through their answer, a member of the team stood to draw this diagram on the white board.

As he drew the diagram, I realized I'd encountered the challenge before. Many times. What they faced wasn't something specific to their school, or even to higher education, but rather to institutional fundraising writ large.

• We're very good at identifying things to raise money for: People. Programs. Facilities.
• We're pretty good at tying those things to experiences: For the students, communities, and regions that our organizations serve.
• We're not good at explaining why any of that matters beyond our bubbles.

The "why" was what my client wanted me to uncover along my touring and interviewing journey. But as I explained to them in our debriefing conversation, I could do tours and interviews for days on end and still only find half of the answer to the "Why?" question.

Yes, we can write, shoot, and share beautiful and inspiring stories. We can design inventive and intricate cases for support that mimic the prospectuses of the hottest startups. But if we don't talk to our donors first, we're the proverbial blindfolded dart-thrower hoping for a bulls-eye. If the messaging we use doesn't touch on what donors—current and future, big and small—care about, we're hamstringing ourselves.

Too often, we start campaign or general fundraising communications planning by looking inward. Our focus groups and workshops try to answer questions like:

• Who are we?
• What are we good at?
• Where do we want to go?
• What do we need to get there?

Instead, we should start by spending as much—if not more—time taking the pulse of our public with questions like:

• What do you care most about? Why?
• How does our organization improve or contribute to what you care most about? Why?
• Where would you consider investing in our organization so we can better address what you care most about? Why?
• How would you like to learn more about what we're doing to address what you care most about? Why?

This isn't news to advancement communicators or front-line fundraisers. But it is something that the advancement decision makers in most organizations choose to skip over. Reasons include:

• It takes money: You have to dedicate staff time to this effort or hire someone (like me!) to do it for you.
• It takes courage: You may hear things you won't like or things that will make you uncomfortable.
• It takes time: You need to start this work early, not two weeks before your solicitations are due to go out.

I can hear the pushback already. No, you won't be able to satisfy the exact philanthropic desires of every donor. Yes, this kind of research is difficult to achieve at scale. But even getting a small view into what piques your donors' interest can help you bridge the gap between what your organization needs and what they're willing to give. And having these conversations offers a great engagement opportunity for those who may not be ready to make a gift just yet.

Skipping this work means you're still spending time and money on your campaign or fundraising messaging—you're just doing it without a map. You're creating websites donors won't visit, brochures they won't read, and talking points they won't listen to. It begs the question: Why?