We were on the road again this week, this time to exhibit and make a presentation at North Carolina’s annual Philanthropy Conference. The event drew some 420 fundraising professionals, and their overall mood seemed to be cautious about current fundraising but optimistic about 2010.
Even though this year’s fundraising is still a concern, many development pros we talked with are considering launching campaigns. While we were there, The Wall Street Journal reported that the majority of economists are saying the recession is over, and the Federal Reserve made a similar pronouncement. Now on to the recovery.
One question that’s been on my mind the last few weeks was whether some development folks or board members are using the economy as an excuse for poor fundraising results, when those poor results should really be attributed to not taking the right steps to raise money. Cultivating and communicating with donors takes work; the economy could become a convenient “fall-guy” for not doing that work. I’m just sayin’. . .
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