The ABCs of fundraising failure

What keeps organizations from growing once they’ve hit a certain maturity? 

On this week’s podcast, we discuss 3 challenges we’ve seen that hinder fundraising growth.

1. Arrogance: Thinking your org is “too important” to fail—or too big, or too well known, or too loved, etc. Money will keep coming in because, clearly, you’re awesome.
   
   
   
2. Bureaucracy: Excessive processes and a lack of nimbleness in decision-making. When decision-making processes become overly bureaucratic, the outcome stops being progress—and it starts being “following process.”
   
   
   
3. Complacency: Being complacent can lead to a lack of focus on continuous improvement. This is a dangerous place to be, because the house isn’t on fire. Things are running smoothly. All is well. But underneath it all, entropy might be setting in.

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ABOUT THE HOSTS

Louis Diez advises nonprofits in annual fund development, digital fundraising, and engagement strategies. He's the founder and host of the Donor Participation Project and VP, Community at Almabase.

Mike Duerksen hosts the Build Good Fundraising Podcast. He’s the founder and CEO of BuildGood, a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors.