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Caution with capacity

The client had invested thousands of dollars in a planned giving package. They had boxes of items to mail and everything possible to build conversations with donors about making a planned gift.

Another client invested in a wealth search software so they could look up donors in preparation for a donation request. There is a list of other reasons this would be helpful, but they would start with their current donors.

Before I continue, I want to make clear that I believe there are many amazing products and services out there for nonprofits to aid in fundraising and relationship building.

The challenge with the nonprofits mentioned above is that there was no capacity on the team to engage in the work they had invested so much in. There was no one on their fundraising team who could connect around planned giving or take the time to use the wealth search continuously.

I see this too often. In some cases a product or service is sold and then nothing is heard back from the company that made the sale. No support. Nothing. In others, the excitement of the possibilities with that product or this service blinded the awareness that purchasing this would mean someone on the team has to take on another project. It all comes down to capacity.

Please consider capacity when making a decision about services and products. Talk with the salesperson about it. Reach out to other fundraising professionals to see how they worked with this system or product. The more time you spend talking about this and doing research, the more you will get out of your upcoming investment.

Thank you for reading!

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