The Season Before Fundraising Season
Here on Martha’s Vineyard, we’re gearing up for the Season. The Season means warmer weather, more shops and businesses open, swimming, great seafood, and about five times more people than are here Out-Of-Season.
Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette
Many of our seasonal residents are very engaged in understanding what the average Islander’s life is like–our joys (tight-knit community, outdoor activities, no more than two or three degrees of separation) and our challenges (lack of affordable housing, substance use, working families who can’t find childcare). Other seasonal residents and visitors think we pop up on Memorial Day and disappear on Labor Day, like some version of Brigadoon.
Like many other seasonal communities we are isolated–surrounded by water a 45-minute ferry ride away from the mainland. The isolation is part of what appeals to our seasonal residents and visitors; it also makes it challenging for us to access services. We literally have to provide all types of services here–you can’t drive to the next town if there is no mental health clinic in your own neighborhood.
The nonprofit infrastructure required to maintain an isolated seasonal community is significant. On Martha’s Vineyard we have over 200 nonprofits, including conservation organizations, professional arts organizations, health and human services organizations, education and medical services. And our full-time resident donor base simply can’t support it.
So we rely on seasonal residents who love the Island and appreciate everything that we provide for them. We have a limited time to accomplish critical in-person engagement: site tours, small educational events, large fundraisers. Which makes the Season prime time for those of us in development.
It’s this time of year when we are busily finalizing plans for summer events. We are scrambling to set up meetings with donors and prospects during the limited time they will be on-Island. It can be frantic and overwhelming. Here are a few things I’ve found that help me get through the Season of Fundraising:
1. Don’t isolate yourself. Stay in touch with your colleagues at other organizations to brainstorm and commiserate. Set up a monthly Zoom call or breakfast meeting to check in with each other.
2. Enjoy your community. I schedule in beach time during the week, so I can remind myself why I love living here.
3. Celebrate every step. It’s so easy to get stuck in the mindset of “I’m not doing enough”. Avoid it by celebrating every small step along the way–an email blast going out, a small donor dinner going off without a hitch, the first gift from an important donor you’ve been cultivating for years.
4. Breathe.
Or post this quote where you can see it often:
Wishing you a very successful Season, wherever you are.
