What if the car dealer approaches Sam next year and says “How about another car?” The chances are that Sam would say “No thank you.” But you can bet that next year the charity will ask Sam for another $40,000, maybe even more, and the chances are also good that Sam will write another check, and another one the year after that!

Charities devote a majority of their time thinking about their relationships with their donors.

Here is the key point of this article: Charities create strategic plans around relationships they want to cultivate and grow. If Sam was a first-time customer at the dealership, it’s likely that the relationship between Sam and the dealership didn’t start until Sam walked through their door. However, often, charities start working on relationships with people before the people even know about it!

With Sam, it may have looked like this:

Someone in or close to the charity brought Sam’s name up as someone who is wealthy and philanthropic. The staff of the charity researched Sam and learned that many of Sam’s passions relate to what the charity does. Remember, Sam is totally unaware of any of this.

Then the charity considered the best strategy for getting on Sam’s radar. They considered a letter, a phone call, and other options. They learn that Sam’s wife and the wife of one of their current donors are friends. They approach the wife of the current donor for help. She invites Sam’s wife to tea, and brings up the topic of the charity, just to feel her out. Sam’s wife responds positively.

Sam and his wife are invited to the charity’s annual dinner and auction. They attend. At the auction, the wife of the donor introduces the director of the charity to Sam and his wife. They chat, and the director asks if she could visit them some time to get their ideas on a new initiative. Sam and his wife accept.

The director visits Sam and his wife, and obtains their feedback on the initiative. A few months later, the plan is rolled out, with their feedback incorporated into the plan. The plan is brought to Sam and his wife again, this time with a request for financial support to help roll the plan out. Now that Sam and his wife have some “ownership” of the initiative, they are happy to write a check.