Wishing for a Crystal Ball

    I’m puzzled. And I’m hoping that you can help me to get a grip on what’s going on.

    We have a poll on the home page of Front Range Source asking:

    Compared to 2009, do you expect your 2010 fundraising revenue to: increase, decrease, stay the same.

    It’s not a huge sample size (24 votes), but 21 out of 24 responders said that they expected fundraising results to increase or stay the same in 2009. That’s 88%. Only three responders said they expected to see a decrease.

    I’d be so thrilled if there wasn’t a small voice in my head questioning this optimism. It’s actually the voice of several well-seasoned fundraisers from around the country that are struggling – all of a sudden. Yes, we knew that this was going to be a tough year for fundraising from foundations, but I’m hearing from people that are seeing low returns on solicitations to individuals across the spectrum; large and small organizations, lower level and middle level donors. And this isn’t acquisition – these are approaches (in the mail, on the phone, and in-person) to people who are already donors.

    Then in Saturday’s New York Times I see this article on the front page, “Wealthy Sector of Buying Public is Cutting Back”. In a nutshell — the wealthier segments of our society started opening their wallets at the beginning of the year as the stock market recovered, but have since grown jittery. Consumer confidence has dipped to its lowest point in a year.

    Now I’m worried.

    I’ve always been an optimist and I’ll continue to advise organizations to be proactive in the face of adversity. But I’m also someone that wants to know what I am facing, and I’m thinking you do, too. Write back and tell us what you are experiencing. Are you seeing your organization’s results go up or down in 2010? Are your donors telling you anything different in 2010? Is there any change you made since the recession that has made a difference for your fundraising?

    Take a moment and share with the Front Range Community. I can almost guarantee that you’ll get a helpful insight or good idea in return.

    p.s. We’re going to keep the poll up for a little while longer, so please go and vote if you haven’t already!

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