Fundraising Lessons From a Frugal Couple

Can being “materialistic” be frugal? And can this help our fundraising? 👀

I’ve been reading A LOT recently. One book I recently finished was “The Art of Frugal Hedonism”. It makes the case that being materialistic is actually frugal - and I started thinking about how this applies to nonprofits.

(By being materialistic, the authors mean to invest in high quality items that will last for decades.)

A quality cast iron pan that will last a lifetime is better than the cheapest  nonstick one you find at a discount store, which will be useless in 2 years.

In nonprofits, we're forced to do more with less.

We're forced to be "frugal".

Many resort to getting the cheapest pans. They only invest in short-term annual fundraising goals - then deal with constant donor churn.

Or they invest so little in staff that an average tenure is only 12 months.

The ones who get ahead?

They get the quality cast iron.

They invest in long-term fundraising activities that consider the lifetime value of a donor - not just the donation they got this year.

They invest in their staff - both through salary and a supportive culture - resulting in career-long tenures.

Ironically, these charities are the MOST frugal - they spend the least in the long-run for the highest ROI.

So next time your leadership questions the ROI of Planned Giving, you can tell them that it’s actually the most frugal financial decision your nonprofit can make! 😆 (I joke. I doubt this framing would go well for those skeptical board members, but you never know…)

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