Show me the money? Focus!

Earlier this year I was interviewed by Marcel Beerthuizen for his new (Dutch) book Show me the Money, which will be published this week. When I read back my interview that Marcel put down on paper I was looking forward to the rest of the book.

He asked me about the basic principles of fundraising. My answer is around donor-centricity and relationship building, that you should not forget to actually ask for money, that we as fundraisers are the main drivers of our results, and that we need to make data-driven decisions. Those 4 points are a good start.

The interview touches on several other topics, but the end is the best. Marcel also asked me about my most important tip for fundraisers. I replied that we as fundraisers need to focus on the things that actually have impact.

Don't let yourself get distracted by everything that is heading your way. That's a big challenge, because there is a lot coming your way. And passionate as you are, you are seeing opportunities everywhere. But you need to focus, because resources are limited, both staff and budget, and you want to spend those wisely.

It's about the things that matter and the things you can control. The overlapping area is where you want to focus on.

Great fundraising to me is making the right choices on where to spend your time. Doing the right things, doing them very well, and continuously improve those.