I’ve always had a habit of seeing similarities where others see differences. In college working towards my double major, I tried hopelessly to convince people that my abstract algebra class and thesis on Hawthorne were related. To this day, if you hand me a beer and ask about college, I’ll tell you why a mathematical proof is really the same thing as the analysis of a poem. I recently moved to the Big Island of Hawaii to take over a small coffee farm. As I spend more time in the fields, I see similarities between growing coffee and my fundraising work. Here are a few of the similarities that I’ve come across:

1. There’s a lot more than meets the eye. Most people don’t understand that the process is complex, let alone have an idea of the steps.

If you’re like 83% of Americans, you enjoy a cup of coffee most mornings. And though you probably don’t think about it much, you assume that you know where that coffee comes from.  But, did you know that a crucial step of your Starbucks latte is a 3-day fermentation? Or that it takes 8 pounds of raw coffee beans to make one pound of coffee? How about that each of those coffee beans was picked by hand (or should have been)?

Similarly, most people assume they have a general understanding of fundraising—it’s asking people for money, right? But in truth, the process is much more complex and detailed then most of us believe. 

2. The process starts earlier than you think—cultivation starts long before you reap the rewards

It takes five years for a coffee tree to produce fruit. Similarly, you need to spend time cultivating donors long before you ask them for money. Whether you’re growing coffee or developing a relationship with a donor, realize that you are going to have to put it a lot of hours before you see the pay-off.

3. You have to pick at exactly the right time.

Coffee cherry ripens sporadically—on any given branch, individual beans can ripen over a period of 3-4 months.  On the branch below, you can see unripe (green) cherry, perfectly ripe (red) cherry, and overripe (shriveled, dark) cherry. To get the best cup of coffee, you want to pick only the red beans. And to make sure you harvest red beans, you need to check back regularly—up to once a week in peak season. That means looking at every branch, on every tree, every week, to see who is ready.

Similarly, to get the most donors, you need to approach them at the best time. And you need to stay in touch with them, checking to see if they are ready to give. Sometimes this means asking. Sometimes this means just giving them a phone call, to provide an update and feel out if they’re ready. Also, if they say no right now—you can ask them again later. “When might be a better time for you and your family?” “Can I send you an update on the project in six months and see if you are interested?”

4. The more time you spend tending the crop, the more and bigger beans you get.

Sure, you can ignore your trees year round and just head out when the beans start to turn red. You’ll get some coffee. But your trees may be dried out, or undernourished. They could be taken over by vines, or a pesky bug may have eaten all the coffee before you got there. A few trees will have died, and a few more will be sick enough to die next year.

Similarly, you can ignore your donors year round, and send them an annual appeal letter at Christmas. Some of them will still give. You’ll get some money. But you won’t get as many gifts, or as big of gifts. Your donor pool—your coffee orchard—won’t be as healthy.  Another organization might have flown in and asked while you weren't paying attention. You’ll lose a few this year, and a few more next year, until you’re scratching your head wondering why you have to have tea for breakfast.

On the other hand, fertilizing your trees can increase yield by an amazing amount. Similarly, you need to fertilize your donors. Send them a thank you. Email them a personal invitation to an event. Mail them updates on your programs. And when you send that appeal come December, you’ll have a whole orchard of healthy donors.

Conclusion

As tempting as it is, the message here isn't that coffee and fundraising are intrinsically linked. However, both are complex processes that require substantial time, energy, and attention for success. If you’re new to fundraising, approach it like any new skill—don’t assume that you understand all the steps, layers, and complexities. Take time to really consider the whole process, from beginning to end, and you’ll end up with a perfect cup. (A cup full of donations, that is!)

A guest post by Donna Bellinger

NOTE:  I (Val) had the pleasure of working with Donna for a few years at Senior Services.  We were all learning on the job but the thing that has always stuck with me is Donna's authentic and loving interaction with donors. We did a lot of direct mail at the time and Donna took her role as primary contact for thousands of donors to heart.  She's written a blog post about why it's important to value all of your donors. 

There are noteworthy individuals in society whose particular genius is explaining what should be obvious. These synthesizers explain the mechanics of processes and situations that baffle the less aware. Once we hear or read the explanation of, e.g., why one product succeeds and another fails, or why some people become criminals and others do not, we immediately recognize the truth in it. It was there all along, but we were looking at trees; the synthesizer saw how those trees made up the forest, and described the forest so we could see it too.

Successful businesses have that overview of the “forest” while still attending to the individual “trees.” Without it, their enterprise will suffer. Excellent customer service—the kind which does not repeat a memorized script, but actually listens to the customer’s comment—sets a company apart from its competitors and helps it thrive even if their product is comparable to many competitors.

The same is true for nonprofits. An ability to keep the overall purpose and goal in mind and still attend to the details is critical.

Of the donors large and small that I encountered over several years in fundraising, the smallest of them made the largest impression. There were others in the organization who tended large donors, so I was allowed to tend my “flock” of small donors:

• a gentleman living on Social Security who frequently mailed in one or two dollars--I still remember his name
• the 90-plus-year-old woman who wrote with her gift that she lived alone, was disabled, had no local family, but that our charity had meant so much to her, she wanted to help others…with a check that represented 8% of her yearly income.

It may seem to be a luxury for a small non-profit to assign one person to shepherd small donors. What their gifts contribute to the overall bottom line is statistically insignificant, and the need for large gifts—and attention to these donors—is critical. But often overlooked is the small donor’s own need to be a giver, not simply a taker.

Unfortunately the value of good will in the extended community that is reaped from many very small gifts is not possible to calculate and report. To each of those small donors, however, the dignity the nonprofit affords them with prompt and genuine thanks, assurance of their importance to the overall mission, and simple affirmation of their own value, means much more than the financial boost they provide.

In this way, the nonprofit sees the trees and the forest.

Donna is the owner of Edit Proof Writing, a proofreading and administrative support consulting business.  You can reach her at editproofwriting (at) hotmail.com.