Effective Fundraising

10What Can I Do?

THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS identified the different components of the development activity and the very different approaches used by various organizations to implement them. As described, annual fund activities, capital campaign activities, and planned giving each require different processes of execution. Additionally, each social enterprise sector has its special challenges.

When you are considering joining a social enterprise board or actively supporting its development mission with your time, the first and most fundamental question is, “Do I understand and support its mission?” Implicit in this question is that the social enterprise appears to be viable. There are many worthwhile organizations that, for a variety of reasons, are not independently viable going forward. Just as organizations in the for-profit world fail to adapt to a changing world, so also is this true for social enterprises. Hospitals, schools, universities, arts organizations over time may fail, be forced to merge under disadvantageous terms, have the opportunity to make strategic acquisitions, or reinvent themselves through internal initiatives. Understanding the pressures an organization is under and deciding if you want to spend a part of your life with this organization, its challenges and its mission, is the first decision you must make, given the time and resources you will ultimately have to invest. It must be your passion. No one else can make that decision for you.

Having said this, ...