The High Season Approaches

Here on Martha’s Vineyard–and Nantucket, Cape Cod, and other summer communities–we are gearing up for our “high season”. For those of you in winter communities, your high season is right now.

Our population will increase ten-fold, demands will be high, patience will be short. As I wrote a while back, it’s easy for those of us working in the nonprofit world to get overwhelmed and overworked.

In that post, I shared my list of things that helps me get through the craziness. This year, I’d like to help you set yourself up for success without losing your sanity.

First, remember that you don’t have to do all the things. So many of my colleagues believe that you have to cram in as many cocktail parties, site tours, one-on-one meetings with major donors as possible–along with a giant gala–into the three months of our high season. It’s impossible!

Second, take some time now to decide what is realistic for you to accomplish, given the resources you have available. Resources can be money, volunteers, other staff; don’t forget your own time and energy. For example, I recently worked with one of my clients to set realistic expectations for summer fundraising and cultivation events. Once we worked through the resource availability and matched that to everything else that needed to get done, we felt great about scheduling four monthly cocktail parties (each 40 people max), up to eight site tours (depending on demand), and getting board members more engaged in meeting with major donors.

Third, make a list of what will help keep you grounded and sane during your high season. If you’ve set reasonable expectations for yourself and your organization, you may still find yourself in need of a breather or reset during the season.

I hope your high season is highly successful. Pop into the comments below and let us know what you do to take care of yourself when your fundraising season kicks into high gear.