Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem
By Dr. Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.
Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
Implore you, to stay a while with us.
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.

At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ
Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope.
All the earth’s tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of Peace.

We, Angels and Mortal’s, Believers and Non-Believers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.

Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.

Everywhere in America, fundraisers are wrapping up the year-end activities, trying to raise as much as they can before December 31^st.  Here is the philanthropy therapist’s top 10 things to check off your list …

10.  Is your year-end appeal in the mail?  (If not, hurry up!)

9.    Do you have your reminder letter ready to go?  (Don’t leave any donor stone unturned?)

8.    In all the craziness – did you remember to breathe today?  Pace yourself – you still have a few   weeks to go.

7.    Are you all set to make your phone calls to remind your best donors to give (if they haven’t already)?

6.    BOARD MEMBERS – HAVE YOU MADE YOUR GIFT YET?  (It’s time)

5.    Did you update your voicemail letting those special donors know how to reach you if you’re not in the office and they want to make a special gift?  (Hey, you never know!)

4.   Is your tax and estate attorney on speed-dial, just in case someone wants to make that complicated planned gift?  (It happens ….)

3.   Did you take a minute to call and thank your best donors?  (It is so rewarding)

2.   Are you tallying up how much you’ve raised this year …. Giving USA wants to know!

1.   Have you decided how to relax and replenish?  Be good to yourself.  You deserve it.  And get ready …. I think 2011 is going to be a very good year

I was having lunch with a colleague.  She works for an organization that has an excellent fundraising program and has consistently increased philanthropic support over the past couple of years.  And we were bemoaning the fact that so many non-profits – and sometimes the volunteers who work with them – often want to try the latest, greatest, thing because they heard of another non-profit doing the same.   Copy-cat fundraising, we call it.  And then she blurted out … “don’t they know … less is more.”

It was ironic, because the night before I had been the “featured expert” on a teleconference and was engaged in a discussion with a consultant who expressed her frustration over non-profits doing three, four or five events in a year —  and none of them raised very much money.  And she said, “don’t they understand … less is more.”   And then I went to a luncheon where the speaker showed a slide on a power point that said … you got it … “Less is more.”

I think there is a theme here.  And I believe it is one we are experiencing in all facets of our lives. Quietly and gingerly we are emerging from the throes of this recession.  There are still troubles in our economy and pockets of our society … and we are all aware of that.  But there are now bright spots that are emerging as well.  We are feeling a bit more confident about the coming year, we are more hopeful and we are more willing to embrace what the future will bring.  Yet we are also fundamentally changed.  And “less is more” may very well be the mantra we are living by.

As we shop for holiday gifts – we aren’t focused on quantity; we want those few gifts that make a difference.  I have noticed that the parties I am invited to this year are more intimate, where friends are gathering together.   Vacations are about bringing friends and families together.  And our philanthropy is about helping … focused, genuine and thoughtful.

I had just finished writing a fundraising plan for an organization.  And I recommended 5 strategies: a business partnership initiative; an individual membership program; one major fundraising event; a grants program and a moderate, targeted major gifts program.  No social networking program, no multiple events, no recurring gifts program, no special fundraising appeals, no extra anything.  Are those worthwhile programs?  Of course.  But less is more.  Do fewer things, do them well and connect with your donors.  It was music to my ears when the CEO said “that’s it … this is just enough.”  She got it.  She understood. And they will do very well in the coming year.

Less is more when you do it well, with thought and with conviction.

What Comes Out of a Fundraising Mix ?

Hopefully – revenue for your non-profit

I was driving and listening to the audio book, Charlie Wilson’s War, which was made into a movie of the same name.  It’s about fighting the Soviets and the Cold War in Afghanistan in the 1980’s.  (The book is better than the movie, I think – but aren’t they usually?)  There is a chapter where this brilliant strategist describes what is needed to win the war.  He explains to his superior that it doesn’t require a “silver bullet” or a “magic weapon.”  What is needed is the right weapons mix!  Of course!  And I nearly had to pull off the road.

The right weapons mix.  The right marketing mix.  The right ingredients mix. The right fundraising mix.  It’s all about the mix!

How obvious it is. How seldom we pay any attention to the obvious.

In the 90’s and again in the mid-2000’s; every non-profit was chasing the really big dollars – courting donors of “high net worth”.  Looking for that 7, 8, 9, or even 10-figure gifts.  And, quite frankly – if you landed one or two of those – well, you made your goal for the year.

When e-giving came on the stage – everyone signed up and the seminars were packed with people trying to figure out how they could increase donor giving “on-line”

Last year a brilliant strategy was employed to help Haitians after the tragic earthquake devastated their country.  “Text for Haiti”.  And today every community organization is trying to figure out how they can “text” for their not-for-profit.

Well, the truth is that once the economy tanked in 2008 – there were very few large contributions coming in; E-giving still only makes up a very small percentage of the best organization’s total giving – and that texting thing …. Hmmmmm – how’s that working out for you?

None of these strategies are bad – but they are single strategies that don’t factor in how to develop a full fundraising mix.  A good fundraising mix must do two things:

1)      Appeal to every generation from whom you are raising money proportionate to the capacity of that generation to give.

2)      Employ the strategies that focus on building sustainable relationships where the philanthropic revenue will continue to increase.

There are a lot of fundraising tactics in your tool kit – and these tactics have sub-tactics.  From events to direct mail, e-giving to recurring gifts, corporate giving to grantsmanship; stewardship activities to retention initiatives; tribute giving to membership programs; major donor plans to planned giving programs, capital campaigns and more.

Before you decide which to employ and what resources you need to dedicate – you first have to understand who your donors are; their patterns and preferences for giving and what the reasonable expectations are.  Then you can develop a fundraising mix which is executable within the resources you have.

The best mix is one that focuses on your donors; and leverages your social capital to build new donors.  Now …  that’s a cake that will rise – or a war you will win.

The Philanthropy Therapist

Sharon J. Danosky

Danosky & Associates

For over 30 years, Sharon J. Danosky, founder and president of Danosky & Associates, has dedicated her career to working with not-for-profit organizations.  As both a consultant and a senior executive for numerous charitable organizations, she has transformed organizations into highly effectively charities of choice in their communities.