My Dad and I spend a great deal of time talking about our landscaping. We love to go over all the details of the garden, the trees, the lawn, the shrubs, the soil, etc. Our lands
cape is a livelong passion that looks at the long term (bald cypress tree), the ongoing (fertilizer), and the short term (tomatoes). Part of what keeps us going is celebrating our successes (fruit trees) and figuring out our challenges (roses).
This year in particular the winter snow gave Dad and I a lot of time to contemplate, plan and design in our heads what we were going to do when the fertile ground eventually thawed and was ready for tilling and planting. I envision a lot of change – adding new plants, moving the garden to better sunlight, focusing on beds that were neglected last autumn. Dad is coming for a visit this weekend (it’s his 65th birthday on Saturday) and I couldn’t have planned a better weekend for he and I to walk the yard and put plans to action.
I find that many of the client conversations I have been having are incredibly similar to those with my Dad. In the fundraising world, it has been a long cold winter. We all had a lot of roses that didn’t flower last year, but fortunately I have been blessed to work with organizations that continued to fertilize and stay focused.
They see fundraising as a lifelong passion recognizing cycles and continuing to work towards the fulfillment of the grand vision. They were not chasing dollar signs, but instead maintaining relationships that are meaningful and sincere.
This requires an organization to have leaders that motivate during low points, a development team that celebrates each member and an environment that recognizes the vital role of donors and volunteers.
Some programs need to be trimmed, some team members need to be moved to a different role and we are finally back to a time where some donors are ready to bear fruit.
The only way to know how your organization/garden is succeeding is to consistently evaluate the plan and spend time at the root level.
Having a green thumb isn’t just producing good fruits and flowers, but to maintain the long-term health of the entire yard so that it provides a complimentary cycle of colors, textures, shade and harvest.
The same aspect applies to fundraising.
The entire mix of annual, 
events, campaigns, and planned giving is a comprehensive menu of areas for focus. Anytime I hear of someone complaining about how fundraising is down, I know that they are only thinking about their major gift program. By taking a walk through my garden at least every other day, I know when things are doing well and when things need a change. I also can become incredibly impatient and it’s often my Dad over the phone that reminds me to give it time.
This spring, I think the trees seem more full of blooms, the tulips colors are brighter and the grass is an incredible emerald green. It also reflects our feelings about fundraising – the economy is stable, volunteerism is up and donors are sending those signals that we have been waiting a long time to hear.
Winter is finally over and its time to get busy!
(pictures courtesy of Lori (Burr) Trumbo)
