Don Corleone's 3 Rules of Fundraising

Beneath the Family, Blood, and Lust in The Godfather, Lie Some Important Truths Fundraisers Shouldn't Ignore.

Fundraising Rule #1 - Make ‘Em An Offer They Can’t Refuse.

One of the biggest secrets in fundraising is that donors are selfish, just like everyone else.

Even the most philanthropic saint out there is in it for something, and if your fundraising copy offers donors what they came looking for, it will be impossible for them to resist your appeal.

So, how do you give them what they want? Before you start writing any fundraising copy, know WHO the audience is for your campaign and, more importantly, WHY they give.

If your donors are giving because they want publicity, craft a sponsorship arrangement that offers exposure. If, on the other hand, your donors are giving to feel better about themselves, position them as Mother Theresa. The nice part about The Godfather Fundraising Rule #1 is, you can STOP trying to motivate your donors to give! Find out what already motivates them and, ahem, exploit it.

If your copy speaks specifically to what has motivated your donors all along, you’ll have made it as impossible for them to say no as the great Vito Corleone ever did.

Fundraising Rule #2 -- It’s Business.

I don’t want to burst any bubbles, but philanthropy is a business transaction just like anything else. (Review Rule #1 above if you don’t understand what I mean.)

I’m driving this point home because, in practice, many nonprofits don’t act like businesses when it comes to raising money -- they act like beggars instead. This ends up hurting their causes.

The majority of nonprofit organizations approach fundraising with an equation that goes something like, donor = giver and organization = getter. The key to converting fundraising from begging back to business is to reverse the transaction equation. Turn the deal around.

A strong fundraiser (and every good Corleone) knows that you need to come to the table with the upper hand. In business, you would never go into a deal only asking for something. You would always have something to offer – something good. When you are tempted in your fundraising to overdramatize how much you neeeeeed, try instead to position your donor and the world on the receiving end of a good thing. It will go a long way toward generating results.

Fundraising Rule #3 – Every Time I Try To Get Out…

Perhaps the most important rule of fundraising that we can learn from our friends in ‘the business’ is that once you have a donor in your ‘thing,’ don’t let ‘em leave.

Donor retention. Donor Retention. Donor Retention. This has to be your motto. In Donor Retention: What Do We Know & What Can We Do about It?, Adrian Sargeant tells us “it typically costs around five times as much to solicit a new customer as it does to do business with an existing one.” That’s huge!

Don’t even THINK about launching any fundraising effort until you have created a clever, personal way keep your donors close! The technique can be almost anything, but it’s imperative to meaningfully thank the people who step up for you and to have an ongoing plan for them engaged. Let ‘em get away and your organization just might end up sleeping with the fishes.