Last week a fire started in a house down the block from mine.  An DCFD engine company, a rescue squad, and an DC EMS ambulance all came.  My brother is a fireman in NYC.  He is with a rescue squad, so seeing any fire/rescue responders immediately brings my brother to mind as well as all of his fire-fighting buddies that I have come to know.  (Yes he was working on 9-11, but that's another story.) The thing that will ALWAYS bewilder me about them is that they are running into the danger as we are trying to escape it.  God Bless our first responders.  We call them we when are afraid and in danger and they always answer to call.

That got me thinking....

How many nonprofits fundraising programs are "on fire" and in need of rescue?

Who do they call to rescue them?  Many will try to put the fire out themselves.  Like many of us in our homes, they will be ill-equipped and not adequately trained to put the "fire" out themselves.  How many will think they have put the fire out only to discover they missed a "hot spot?"

As a veteran in the nonprofit sector, (more than 23 years) I now know much more than I did, even 10 years ago.  Unfortunately many small and young nonprofits are relying on "rookie" fundraisers because it is the best their money can buy.  There is certainly no shame in that.  The shame comes when there a "fire" and they don't make the call for help.

Your rescue squad is all around you in the form of expert consultants.  I started working for nonprofits after volunteering.  I was in sales and marketing.  Volunteering and helping others felt so good.  I was more into my volunteer assignments than I was into my then job and it began to bleed over.  My work began to decline and I realized I needed to make a career move.  All these years later, I have become an idealist.  I totally believe in the work that nonprofits are doing for our community.  WE DO SO MUCH!!  i started consulting and I'll start teaching this spring because after 23 years I feel like I can give back to the nonprofit community... and I am not alone.

So I say to the nonprofits who are out there on fire, your rescue squads -- those of us who have grown into industry veterans, consultants, etc. -- we are out here just waiting on you to call.

Check out the article I wrote for the Association of Fundraising Professional's Winter 2015 Advancing Philanthropy titled "Paralysis by Overanalysis."  http://www.afpnet.org/Publications/CurrentIssue.cfm

Before the end of 2014 I had lunch with a colleague who said he'd be resigning from the Board of the well-known national organization he'd been serving for the last few years.  He had just completing serving as their Gala Chair which had exceeded its goals.  While they thanked him for his efforts, they also indicated they would be expecting a year-end gift.  The audacity of such an expectation when he had expended months of effort, soliciting donations from his company, his peers and making his own donation to ensure the success of the gala, angered him to point of resignation.

I've been working for nonprofits since 1991, and I believe in the work they do and want them to be successful. I have coached many organizations regarding committee recruitment and retention and I was very sad to hear my colleague tell me the story.    I immediately thought, the organization should have answered their own questions BEFORE the recruitment conversation with my colleague took place.  Would they want his event donation to be above and beyond his annual gift as a Board Member?  What If he couldn't do both? 

Next, I would have suggested that the organization have a frank conversation with my colleague about expectations.  Any committee member recruited should go into their committee service knowing what will be expected of them on the committee and beyond.  The committee member should have the chance to express his/her abilities and limitations. Unfortunately, in this case, these detailed and candid conversations did not take place.

Depending on how badly the organization needs the person to serve on the committee, they might have to let the annual gift go if the committee prospect can't do both.  It's better to keep the donor for the long-term.  My colleague who served as Gala Chair should now be helping to build relationships with the attendees and donors he brought in.  Now, not only is he lost, but so are those that came with him.

As nonprofits start this new year, I hope they will build up relationships with their board members, key committee members, important donors and others not tear them down.