There’s no “get rich quick” scheme for nonprofit fundraising

Field of Dreams

Remember the Kevin Costner movie called Field of Dreams? It is about an Iowa corn farmer that hears voices and interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields. He does, and the Chicago Black Sox come.

The whole mantra of the movie was — “If you build it, he will come”.

Unfortunately, that just doesn’t work in real life.

You can create the best campaign or build the best fundraising site, but people won’t come to it unless you tell them to. People won’t understand who you are and what you do unless you tell them. People won’t take action on your site unless you tell them to.

Yes, it’s hard work. It takes a lot of time. But that’s the only way about it. There’s no “get rich quick” scheme for nonprofit online fundraising.

To help you be successful, you should do five things.

1. Create compelling content (copy and media)
2. Build a site that has personality and matches your brand
3. Identify your audience and the channels they use
4. Have one call to action
5. Never stop promoting