In the July/August 09 issue of Advanding Philanthropy, there’s a great article about learning from your mistakes in fundraising. The article talks about ways you turn mistakes into learning opportunities.
In my own experience, I’ve made plenty of mistakes! I always try to learn all I can from those mistakes so I can avoid making them again and become a better fundraiser.
One of the best things to do when a mistake is made in your Development office is to identify exactly what went wrong, NOT whose fault it is. Focus on the process, not the people. When you can pinpoint the place where the error was made, you can put policies or procedures in place that will prevent it in the future.
Mistakes are not a bad thing. I know some people that are so careful to not make mistakes that they hardly move forward. I believe that if you aren’t making mistakes at least occasionally, you aren’t pushing the envelope hard enough and you’re not raising as much money as you could be.
What do you think? Click on the comment link below and share your thoughts or experiences with mistakes.
I, like most of us in the profession, have made so many mistakes that you cease to count. Often the mistakes turn into positive showing a new way to do a direct mail piece or reach out to a donor consitiuency I did not realize would respond as vigorously as it did. Once I forgot to mention a donor’s wife in a newsletter list as a co-donor and heard plenty from the husband but that mistake taught me to first ask how the donor wanted to be listed/thanked instead of assuming the person signing the check was the only donor.