Football and Fundraising – Stick to Your Game Plan!

By Beth Krumm, MEd, Senior Consultant

Anyone who knows me well knows I am a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan. Honestly, I’ve been talking about them playing in the Super Bowl for weeks now. So when quarterback Patrick Mahomes went down with a concussion in last Sunday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns, my confidence in their reaching the Super Bowl decreased dramatically. I held my breath through seemingly every snap. The game plan was built around Mahomes – his ability to evade defenders, to see the entire field and find a receiver, to use his feet to gain the yards needed for a first down.
 
When Chad Henne came in as quarterback, it would have been easy to groan, give up, and say, “Well, I guess this is as far as we’re going to go this year.” Instead, Coach Andy Reid kept to his game plan, made a few adjustments, and the Chiefs will now be playing the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game next weekend.
 
Fundraising can sometimes feel the same way. The annual fund mailing performed better than expected…your mid-level giving program grew by a decent percentage. You’re feeling good about how the year will end. But then the event that you relied on for a significant portion of your revenue had to be switched to a virtual event and didn’t raise what you projected. Or perhaps the donor you thought was going to make a major gift let you know it wasn’t going to come in this fiscal year.
 
You may be inclined to throw up your hands and be thankful that you raised what you’ve raised. But now is the time to stay the course, stick to your game plan, make necessary and immediate adjustments, and relentlessly pursue your goal as a team. It isn’t over until the clock hits 0:00.
 
As Patrick Mahomes tweeted following the Chiefs win, #HenneThingIsPossible. Go Chiefs! Go Fundraisers! Go Board Members! Go Senior Leadership! YOU can do this!
 
Need expert fundraising guidance? Contact Let’s Build Hope today: (314) 716-2496 or LetsBuildHope@lbh-stl.com.
 
#LBH #LetsBuildHope #StayTheCourse #StickToYourGamePlan!

---