“I don’t know how we will reach the goal. . .”
“I don’t know where the next major gift is coming from. . .”
“I don’t know who is willing to lead this campaign. . .”
After we establish a goal, create a fundraising plan, or design a campaign, our advancement work is filled with unknowns.
The choice isn’t to minimize these unknowns. They are real. Once we get into our campaign, we may not know where the next major gift is coming from!
The choice is to make sure these future unknowns don’t derail our present effort and process. The choice is to focus less on what we may not know about future outcomes and focus more on what we can do today, this hour, this minute, with what we have at our disposal and in alignment with our plans.
There is a season for planning and goal-setting. And, there is a season for implementing.
We become better advancement folk when we consciously remind ourselves which season of work we are doing today and keep our efforts focused there.
This article was originally posted on Jason’s Blog in September 2023. To read more, visit www.jasonmcneal.com.
