Basics of Fundraising and Donor Relations

Donor relations is all about building a relationship, creating a romance.  People give from their hearts.  When they fall in love with your organization and your mission, they will give.  Donors are your friends.  Care about them and invest in them as you would your friends.  Get to know all about them, and their families.  Treat them with kindness, respect, and honour.  Cultivating a relationship with a donor is a romance – and romantic relationships begin with low-key contact (go out for coffee) and then move toward more serious contact (dinner and subsequent dates).  Donor relations are a lot like that:  you are building a relationship, creating a shared passion for the same thing (your program).  You are inviting them into a relationship in which they will invest, and their hearts will be touched by how lives have been changed…

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