“Spic-and-span” from the 1600’s, means, “spotlessly clean and well looked after.” It’s associated with words like “immaculate, impeccable, unsullied, and untarnished.”
Attention to appearance is a key factor in donor satisfaction and repeat investments. Appearances – short and long term – matter as much as impact.
Think about having your name on something where everyone sees it. Or perhaps it’s the name of your beloved, deceased spouse, parent, friend or child. Or perhaps it’s the name of your business, organization or group and represents the entire staff and membership, past and present.
Now consider that you partnered with these folks to create these spaces because there was a real need – a real purpose is being served – people will find shelter, lives will be saved, research will be conducted, gatherings of all sorts will be held, food will be served – basically those daily activities that produce the impact we created the space for in the first place will happen! Bravo! We WANT this – and LOTS OF IT!
We want physical spaces that are worthy of the important work and people that inhabit them. But unless we are vigilant, overflow storage will pile up in the corner, gashes will show up in the wall, bushes will grow and GROW, the paint will fade, and stuff will break. Hey, we’re USING the place!
Donors notice.
Nancy Gerard, Director of Development at the Georgia-Cumberland Academy in Georgia, and currently my VIP Coaching client, shared the transformation in giving that was accomplished by focusing on routine maintenance that had been neglected for years. Everyone – students, staff, parents and external constituent – noticed. On a campus tour, she pointed out a memorial plaque to share a donor story with me. We could hardly see the plaque due to the brush overgrowth. She asked the grounds staff to give the spot a haircut and it was completed before I left. You see, she walked by it every day and hadn’t noticed, but my visit….seeing this through my eyes, prompted her action.
Do your donor recognition pieces still bring honor?
Appearances matter. When we look at what I call the most important part of the cycle, “Invoking the Grateful Recipient” a big piece of our thanks and impact is making sure physical places remain a source of pride for our donors. Are we keeping our promises? Are we doing what we said we would do to honor our donor’s investment? Take a look around. Better yet, bring someone who has never been there to take a look around. Ask their impressions. Then, take action to be sure your major giver is eager to invest again!
“Money doesn’t grow on ____________.” Trees. This is the notion that it’s hard to acquire money and some just have an easier time than others. How they got their money is key – inherited or earned! It gives us an excuse NOT to have the same wealth. We simply did not have the same opportunities or circumstances. What’s malarkey about that is we all know of folks who had nothing and created enormous wealth, and those who had all the advantages and amounted to nothing. We create our lives…and our wealth.
“You can either be rich or you can be ____________.” Spiritual, Loving, Kind, Liked, Good….add you own amazing word. It’s the sad state of Either/Or versus Both. It’s our justification that wealth somehow saddles us with a host of negative traits. Thus, wealth is to be avoided for what it does to our virtues. In fact, you can be spiritual, loving, kind, liked and good AND be wealthy. Don’t we know scores of donors who are? Yet don’t we also feel the negative vibes of envy as we acquire wealth or talk about our donor’s generosity? And there is plenty of messaging that supports either/or thinking.
Remember, “We become what we think about” and we often don’t even realize the opinions we harbor from our early experiences around money that deeply impact how we feel, and judge, ourselves and our donors today. Would you ever begin a major donor visit with, “Hi, you’re filthy rich and we need money”? Probably not…but are you thinking it? If you are, your donor will sense she is being judged.
Titles don’t matter, bold or behind-the-scenes there is nothing of greater value and joy than the colleague, friend, spouse, parent, teacher, leader or boss who is ALL IN!
Leaders understand that leading is not easy. If you choose to be a leader, you create an expectation around how you show up each and every day and in every facet of your life. Others come to depend on you to lead. Your “leadership” hat is always on. Your attitude is contagious and you want yours to be worth catching. You want to be the positive spark that lights up the days of those around you. This may be with a rousing, “You can do it!” encouragement, or the soft hand on the shoulder that says, “Good job. I appreciate you.”
Being ALL IN is, of course, a mindset. It is an exceptionally powerful one because it inspires you to move from thinking and feeling to taking action. And actions lead to results – major donor giving and engagement success, physical health and family time.
Here were my TOP 10 AFP ICON 
If they say,’no’ it’s all about them. You are not at the center of the prospect’s universe. Ann Melvin (soon to be on my Success Club)
Training and longevity are keys to success. Specifically, for every additional training opportunity, major gifts increased by $37,000!
All of these are stories we tell ourselves to avoid the real story, “This isn’t the way I want it because I didn’t take action to make it that way.”
Bosses, “accountability buddies,” metrics, goals, “to do” lists can be aids to help us take back our power.
More DONE gives you…
Scores of advancement professionals have poor or no boundaries. They are answering email and text messages 24/7 and sadly, never “leave the office.” They jump with every email or Facebook ping. They are distracted by anything and any interruption will pull them off task. Boundaries are a way of respecting ourselves and honoring that our time has value.
Use an Anchor
Create DONE Buddies.
What does your ideal day look like? 
