It's Not the Economy

Winter fundraising season is in full swing and we're getting questions about the effect of the economy on pledge drives. While there's no doubt some listeners are feeling a budget pinch, the economy should not have any effect on the overall results of a pledge drive.

The reason? Almost every station has room for improvement. There's always an opportunity to get better. At those stations running their pledge drives at absolute peak performance -- all two or three of them -- there is room for improvement in direct mail and web-based fundraising.

We can't control the economy, but we can control how we raise money. So before you let "it's the economy" become a reason for raising less money, consider how your station might get better.