How Is Fundraising Like Tangled Wires?

By Erica Waasdorp

Have you ever wondered why wires have a tendency to tangle up in ways you’d never imagined when you put them away? I always marvel as to why this happens.

I put my computer cables or my phone charging cord in my bag and it never comes out the way I put it away. It’s as if there’s a little wire-tangle fairy at work.

Well, at times, it may feel like fundraising is like dealing with untangling wires. If you are patient and take your time to work through it, step by step, you’re able to untangle the wires and raise more money. If you try to do it too fast, your wires just tangle even more.

If, at first, pulling through a wire one way doesn’t work, you’ll simply have to try another way. You’re still dealing with the same wires. You’re still looking at the same end result — untangled wires, ready to be put into action.

In a world that’s increasingly fast and challenging, it is crucial to have the patience to look at the wires in front of you. Are they straight or tangled? Do you need to take some time to untangle them?

If you do and take just a few minutes every day to decide what’s really important, that will help you reach your ultimate goal.

Don’t introduce any new wires at this time as the ones you have will work just fine. Don’t get distracted with wanting to look at the latest shiny thing when you’ve not necessarily optimized what you have.

Only with patience and focus will you be able to raise more money. This is especially true when it comes to monthly giving. Slow and steady wins the race. Stop, untangle the wires you have and keep at it.

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Monthly Giving

Erica Waasdorp Author's page

Erica Waasdorp is one of the leading experts on monthly giving. She is the president of A Direct Solution, a company serving nonprofit organizations with fundraising and direct marketing needs, with a focus on monthly giving and appeals. She authored "Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant" and "Monthly Giving Made Easy." She regularly blogs and presents on fundraising, appeals and monthly giving — in person and through webinars. She is happy to answer any questions you may have about this great way of improving retention rates for your donors.

Erica has over 30 years of experience in nonprofits and direct response. She helped the nonprofits she works with raise millions of dollars through monthly giving programs. She is also very actively supports organizations with annual fund planning and execution, ranging from copywriting, creative, lists, print and mail execution.

When she’s not working or writing, Erica can be found on the golf course (she’s a straight shooter) or quietly reading a book. And if there’s an event with a live band, she and her husband, Patrick, can be found on the dance floor. She also loves watching British drama on PBS. Erica and Patrick have two step sons and a cat, Mientje.