I love to cook new recipes. Working on putting together something new. Tasting it and seeing if it’s a keeper or not.
When I cook I tend to do it alone. Sometimes one of my kids will join. But it’s easiest when fewer people are taking up space in the kitchen.
Too many cooks in the kitchen can have a negative impact on the final product. (I learned something new: The origin of that phrase.)
A few years ago a colleague asked me to review the year-end letter she had written. When I opened the Word doc I noticed quite a lot of comments along the right side. I counted it up and SEVEN different people had left comments, edits and suggestions for changes.
Even worse: Their comments CONTRADICTED each other! The phrasing and branding changes they suggested were at odds. One person suggested X while someone else thought that the organization should really be saying Y.
The comments made it clear that the staff at this organization had different ideas of what the organization’s mission was and what they should be asking for at year-end.
Your fundraising copy has to hit the mark. The second your letter gets marked up in red ink by 27 people, forget it.
My suggestion:
- The fundraiser writes the campaign letter.
- ONE person (chosen in advance) is responsible to review and edit.
- Fundraiser makes edits. Final copy is sent to CEO for final edits and approval.
- If the letter is being signed by the Board Chair, then they should give final approval.
(Note: The person responsible for reviewing could be the same person or a rotation of people for each campaign. To be decided internally.)
This limits the time spent going back and forth and hopefully ensures that the letter gets out in time.
I AM a fan of outside eyes checking every campaign before it goes public. Very important! Prevents group think and allows for people to find mistakes, make necessary changes and create the best fundraising letter possible.
But outside eyes doesn’t mean ten pairs of eyes. Too many.
Image by Ahmad Ardity from Pixabay
Let fundraisers cook!
As a former CEO and fundraiser, I am well aware of inner office politics. And I know how people want to have a hand in something so they can… prove their worth? Have their say? Make it known they exist?
Which is why I’m sharing the below:
LET FUNDRAISERS COOK!!!
They were hired because they’re an expert in fundraising. They know what they’re doing. They know best practices and have experience in running fundraising campaigns.
And when they don’t know something they use this enews to help them 😎
Lemme return to the above story about the seven people who commented on the year-end letter.
I didn’t check it. Instead I told my friend to go to her boss and say:
“It is not practical nor will the campaign succeed when so many people are making changes to the letter. I’d appreciate if you could appoint one person from the team to check my work and share edits and changes. Then I’ll get it to you and you can review with the CEO for final edits and approval.”
In this case, the fundraiser had a boss. That boss could have been the person in charge of checking or could have given final stamp of approval with the CEO.
I’ve been in this sector for 25 years. I know what happens when the year-end fundraising ask becomes a baseball team’s worth effort.
It stalls. Numerous rewrites are needed. It frustrates the fundraiser. It delays mailing the letter which annoys the CEO and Board.
The first draft isn’t always pretty. It may need lots of fixes and changes. But let one staff person make that determination.
Fundraisers: I can’t call your CEO for you. (Unless you’d like me to!) But you were hired as the topic expert. You’ve got to (gently) push back and explain that the process will go smoother when fewer people have their hands in this.
CEO’s: When it comes to other fundraising and marketing activities, I am a fan of team collabs. But in this case, let the staff experts do their thing. Get the letter out the door. Raise the money so you can service the people who need it most.
FURTHER LEARNING: Fundraising copywriting expert Mary Cahalane wrote a great post related to today’s topic. Dive into: People at your organization are going to challenge parts of your fundraising appeal. Here’s how to respond.
