Expanding the Donor Base

My life continues to be raising money and raising friends, but not, for a second, in that order.  Last night I went out to eat with Matt Porter, Baptist Student Center, and we talked about the A B. Cooper Meals program which feeds international students each week.   Tomorrow I go out with Cindy Gannon and we are talking about raising money for Hall of Fame exhibit and today I am arranging a meeting at Sikeston Hospital about Mama Cooper's Wall.  I'm in the raising friends/funds game and it is not a game to me!  It allows people to put their money where their heart is!

Matt and I talked about the fact that no organization can survive with a stable, unchanging donor base.  People die, they age and watch every penny out of necessity and the donor base shrinks and the board thinks that someone, now, is failing since the money does not come in like "it used to!".   Fat chance!   So I'm back teaching how to expand that base.  Strange, it's so practical but so expedient to schedule a plan, work the plan and scrap it when it does not work.

Sounds simple?  Laugh out loud.   It takes work and planning and caring about that donor and you can't fake it!