How to Make Your Fundraising Vision Irresistible to Donors

[Three Essential Questions]

Big visions get big gifts. 

If you’re planning a capital or programmatic fundraising campaign, your success will depend on your ability to cast a vision that inspires your donors. 

Read on to discover the three questions you need to answer to craft a transformational vision donors can’t resist. 

Your fundraising success depends on your vision. 

A major fundraising campaign is a mountain climb. It requires stamina, skill, a trusted guide, and the right gear.

The “gear” for your capital campaign includes:

• A bold leadership team
• Your charity’s track record & authority
• Storytelling acumen
• A strategy for donor identification
• Discovery visits with potential donors
• Stewardship of donors

Perhaps your most important piece of gear for your fundraising mountain climb?

A transformational vision.

Without a vision that inspires people to hope for something truly extraordinary, both your leadership team and your donors will find it hard to go the distance.

With a clear, transformational vision, though, you’ll know exactly what the stakes are in your climb – and will be able to easily attract the right donors to join you for the journey.

So, how do you craft a vision statement that will go the distance of your charity’s major fundraising campaign?

First, you need to answer three questions.

Donors need your fundraising vision to answer these three questions:

1. Where are we now?

If fundraising is the process of raising money to create a better future world, you have to start by describing the state of the current world. 

In other words, “What’s the problem we’re trying to solve?”

Too many charities skip this step and lose out on an opportunity to help their donors feel the discomfort of the pain and suffering you’re trying to alleviate.

So start by clearly describing the problem and its significance.

Who or what is suffering because of the problem?

What’s causing the problem?

What’s the impact of the problem? 

What’s the cost of not solving the problem?

Why do we need to solve it now?

To describe the problem, use one or two data points to drive home the urgency and need, and then avoid jargon and stats that distance the donor from the problem. 

You could say, for example: 

33% of children face food insecurity. 

OR, you could say:

1 in 3 children are in danger of going to bed hungry tonight.

The data point is the same in each example. Which is a stronger, more emotional way of conveying the problem?

In the first example, the percentage (33%) plus the jargony language (food insecurity) allows the potential donor to stay at a distance from the problem. 

The second example zooms in on the data by breaking 33% down to “1 in 3” and then describes the problem in a way that allows the donor to feel the impact of hunger on a child (“going to bed hungry”). How can you do the same for your charity’s key facts and data?

Flesh out your statistics with stories that demonstrate the negative impact of the problem, rather than ones that show the positive impact of your work. If possible, the stories should be unresolved. This allows the donor to be part of writing a happy ending with their gift. 

2. Where do we want to go?

The answer to this question is the heart of your fundraising vision statement. 

While the other two questions are crucial to helping you flesh out your vision for your campaign materials and conversations, this one is at the center of all you do during your campaign.

You’ve clearly described the world as it is right now and stated the problem you’re trying to solve. 

Now, you need to look down the road and describe where you’re trying to go.

In other words, “What’s the solution you’re proposing?” 

Your solution should give donors hope that their gifts can change the world. 

Donors don’t make big gifts so they can make small changes. They want to make a real difference. And so your vision needs to offer donors the opportunity to be part of something truly transformational. 

When you’re in the day-to-day of charity work, it can be easy to get stuck on all of the details:  why your problem can’t be solved or can’t be solved in your lifetime or why it’s too expensive to solve. 

Your challenge is to set aside all of the potential obstacles and questions about how you’re going to do it. Instead, tap into the hope, vision, and idealism that got you into your work. Dream big. And then share that dream with your donors. Don’t be tempted to water down your vision. 

Transformational vision statements sound like:

“We dream of a world where ____.”

“We believe no _____ should have to _____.”

“We aim to eradicate ______ by _____.” 

“One day, all ______ will have access to ______.”

Your transformational vision should be big, bold, and audacious. It should get your donors’ attention with its clarity and significance. 

3. How will we know when we’re there?

This is your opportunity to describe the transformation you envision for the people and communities you serve. It’s where you get into the specifics of the impact you want to make.

Your answer to the second question – Where do we want to go? – will be about solving the problem once and for all. 

But while your donors want to make a transformational world change that solves a problem, they understand that completely fulfilling that vision may not be possible with your current campaign. 

So the answer to this third question is your chance to flesh out the details of your specific goals for your current campaign. 

These details still need to promise something truly transformative and be framed in terms of the impact you’ll make on real people and communities. 

And while data and concrete goals of impact are important, it’s also important here to emphasize how change feels: 

• To the parent of a sick child being cared for in your new medical facility
• To the student who now has access to a high quality education
• To the family who has stable housing
• To future generations who will be able to enjoy the wildlife preserve

How do the people suffering feel now? How will they feel when the problem is solved? 

A few tips on crafting your vision:

Consider your donors’ needs and desires.

As an organization, you may need a new multi-million dollar building to do your work effectively. You may need money to buy new equipment, hire staff, and expand your programs. 

Those are your needs and desires.

Why should the donor care? What impact will the new building have on real people? How will more programs and services make the world a better place? 

Talk about that.

Donors don’t want to build a building or hire more staff for your programs. They want to save lives, educate children, save trees, house veterans. Focus on the impact the building, equipment, staff, and programs will make. 

Think about impact in terms of breadth, depth, and legacy.

Breadth has to do with the scope of the problem. How many people does your problem – and your solution affect?

Depth is about how deep the problem or solution goes. Does it change people’s lives a little bit or a great deal?

Legacy is about the long-term impact of solving – or not solving – the problem. How does the future look differently after your vision is implemented?

The best visions offer donors the chance to make all three types of impact with their gift – breadth, depth, and legacy. 

Embrace emotion.

You’re not writing a business plan. You’re not selling someone on an investment.

You’re offering donors the opportunity to experience the joy of being part of a world-changing transformation that makes real lives better.

Sure, you need to show yourself to be a credible and trustworthy organization through relevant data and financial details. But, then, embrace the emotional side of this campaign. 

The problem you’re trying to solve makes those experiencing it feel something. Make it your goal to help your donors experience a bit of that. And do the same for your solution. This isn’t sales-y or slimy; it’s human.

Summary

Remember, big visions get big gifts. 

Donors are looking for ways to use their money to make a transformational change. To make your vision match their ambition, answer these three questions:

• Where are we now?
• Where do we want to go?
• How will we know when we’re there?

Need a guide for your capital campaign mountain climb?

We can help. Hussey Philanthropic Consulting is a small family firm with 30+ years experience guiding nonprofits and charities through capital and programmatic fundraising campaigns. Schedule a call today or take our Free Campaign Readiness Assessment to see how we can support your vision of a better world.