Doom-Gloom Away! Let's not become beggars.

Today I attended the Development Executives Roundtable session in San Francisco. While the networking was good and the program quite interesting, there was an overall pall in the room. It seemed every other minute, someone was bemoaning the state of the economy, the crisis we are facing, how our donors are feeling the pinch. There was talk of cancelling events, lowering ticket prices, re-focusing strategies for entire campaigns. Yikes!

Now don't get me wrong. I've personally felt the impact of our recession or depression or whatever it is. I'm not one to hide his head in the sand. We ought not pretend it's all well-and-good. But panic is not an appropriate response. The doom-and-gloom mentality was highly contagious in the room. Yes, things are tough. And non-profits are being called on to serve greater numbers while they feel their revenues at risk.

Before we reduce ticket prices, let's be certain that the market won't bear last year's price, rather than reflexively jerk our knees and discount the tickets. Has one person's worried comment been whipped up into a communal decision to slash what we ask for? Sure, people know things are tight -- and many are unemployed or underemployed. But the vast majority of people still have their jobs. While their net worth might have declined, their take-home pay almost certainly has not. And if we're not going to do our gala event this year, let's be honest enough to admit that we probably should have stopped doing that event long ago.

And as we modify campaigns to incorporate the current "realities," let's make sure we don't go overboard. It's too easy to have our "we-know-times-are-tough" direct mail copy become tantamount to saying: "We still need your support, but you probably don't want to give right now, do you?" Worst of all is the very real risk of simply not asking at all. No. Now is the time to get out there, build relationship with our donors. Remind them of the experiences they've had with us in the past. Sit beside them, elbow-to-elbow, and share our story with them in as compelling a way as we can find. Spark in them the same passion for our work that we feel. And then ASK them to invest in our cause.