Your Donor Pipeline Isn't Broken. It's Leaking.

Dear nonprofits leaders and fundraisers,

One of the first things I ask nonprofit leaders when we start working together is deceptively simple: Tell me about your donor pipeline.

The answer is almost always some version of the same concern. They need more donors. More prospects. More major gift conversations. More people entering the top of the funnel.

On the surface, that sounds logical. If revenue is down, surely the answer is to bring more people into the pipeline.

But I think that's one of the most expensive assumptions nonprofits make.

Imagine owning a bucket with a hole in the bottom. Every morning you pour another gallon of water into it, and every evening you wonder why it's still half empty. Most of us wouldn't conclude that we need a bigger hose. We'd flip the bucket over and look for the leak.

Fundraising is no different.

I've watched organizations spend thousands of dollars on prospect research, acquisition campaigns, and wealth screenings while quietly overlooking the people who already believe in them. Volunteers drift away after a single shift. Event attendees never hear from the organization again. First-time donors receive a tax receipt and little else. Sponsors disappear after the event because no one followed up once the banners came down.

None of those people rejected the mission. They simply reached the end of the relationship because no one showed them where to go next.

That's the leak.

For some reason, we tend to think of volunteers, newsletter subscribers, event attendees, first-time donors, monthly donors, major donors, and planned giving donors as separate audiences. We create different lists, different strategies, and different departments to manage them. In reality, they're all part of the same journey. The only difference is where they happen to be standing today.

That shift in perspective changes everything. Instead of asking, "How do we find more donors?" the better question becomes, "How do we help the people who already know us take the next step?"

Those are two very different fundraising strategies.

Sincerely,

Queers

Queer For Hire provides fundraising support to Queer nonprofits, LGBTQIA+ cultural competency to straight-led organizations and corporations, and individual coaching for Queer professionals.

Learn about our Fundraising Services <here> – we’ll lead or support your fundraising efforts, whether you need general support or want to focus on raising money from and for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Learn about our Fundraising Trainings <here> – we can coach your board, staff, and fundraising team on how to fundraise and how to engage LGBTQIA+ donors.

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