It’s easier than you think!

Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? It happened in the Summer of 2015 when the ALS Association in the US (and a number of related organizations around the world, where ALS is often called motor neurone disease) became the beneficiaries of a gargantuan fad. They raised more than $220 million worldwide.

I blogged about it at What a weasel is going to tell you about the Ice Bucket Challenge because it sparked a groundswell of demand: We need our own Ice Bucket!

By now, nearly two years later, it’s clear to almost everyone that trying to launch your own Ice Bucket Challenge is like trying to fund your organization by buying a winning lottery ticket. You could win — somebody has to! — but realistically … it’s not going to happen.

But here’s the good news: You can have Ice Bucket-like financial success. Yes, you. It doesn’t take lightning-strike luck. Just smart and well-targeted work. Quite a lot of work, actually. Which is why it’s rarely done. The field is wide open for you to be a hero at your organization!

You only need to do three things. Anyone of the three will make a huge difference for you, but the more you do, the more astounding the amount of revenue you’ll see pouring in!

Here are the things to do:

Focus on planned (legacy) giving

The payoff for focusing on planned giving won’t be this season. It’ll be five, ten, and more years from now. That’s another reason so many organizations don’t do this in any meaningful way. Why spend your time on something that’s going to pay off when you don’t work there anymore? (How about professional pride.)

Find more monthly donors

Between the high annual values and the superb retention rate, monthly donors are more than a nice-to-have. They’re an Ice Bucket.

Spend more time and money on your mid-value and major donors

How should you be spending on them? Communicating with them more. More personal contact, like phone calls. Higher-end direct mail. More elaborate acknowledgements, thank-yous, and reporting back.

The result: More revenue, at a higher return on investment.

Want to know more about Mid-Value Donors and have your own Ice Bucket success? Sean covers this important topic in the Mid-Value Donor Super Course. You can get instant access to this and more when you join The Fundraisingology Lab.