Fundraising Success Is Determined By Leadership
Successful Fundraising Campaigns
Part 19 Leadership Determines Success
When selecting key leaders for a fund-raising campaign it is not that one is ungrateful for the help of volunteer, rather it is that the selection must be carefully thought through to see where the individual is best suited.
Because someone volunteers to work for you does not make him or her a good follower or a good leader. People follow a leader who has demonstrated a host of admirable characteristics and is one who is confident in their ability and their success.
A leader is someone who has gained the trust of those he/she will lead. They become leaders because they are of good character, strong personality, morally sound, and they are competent and experienced. Quality leaders in a fund-raising campaign look for potential leaders to recruit for their various committees. The success of the committee will be based upon the members selected by your leadership.
The leaders you select must be passionate about the Million–Dollar Fundraising Campaign and support the fundraising program publicly and privately. They do not judge others and work tirelessly to help others develop their leadership skills and potential. Leaders are special and that is why they understand that leaders actually have a servant’s heart. Leaders know their role is to serve and so they do it well.
When it comes to finding good quality leaders one must not only take their time but will probably be surprised at the talented pool of leadership candidates that are likely already around you volunteering in some capacity. Certainly, if you are a church then there are ample potential leaders to be found in your congregation. If you are a school, or a college, or nonprofit organization it is not uncommon to find good quality leaders already volunteering and working in these establishments.
Just as the key leaders will recruit volunteers to complete their committees in a face-to-face meeting is best to meet potential leaders one-on-one to discuss the work you would like him to accept. Be sure to bring a job description to this meeting and indicate a start and end date for the various tasks you would like these potential leaders to consider.
Most people will respond within negative comments when asked to take on a key leadership role. They do this because they do not know what is involved and so it becomes important to explain exactly what they are to do and for how long. One will recruit more leaders when the candidates know there is a defined period of time to the fund-raising campaign.
Well, that’s the way I see it!
Monty McKinnon
Master Financial Planning Services Inc.