One cold winter’s night, I was bundled up on the couch with my dogs when we were startled by a knock at the door. After wrangling the pooches to their respective locations, I quietly tried to ignore the interruption, but the ferocious barking had made this impossible. He knew I was in there because he persevered with a kinder, gentler knock, making me think that it was someone I should open up to. I cautiously opened the door and was greeted by an unfamiliar, but friendly, gentleman loaded up with flyers and a clipboard. Uh oh, this could only mean one thing. I was getting solicited.

We’ve all been there. The epic battle between your heart that says “be polite, hear him out, yes clean water/education/wildlife is important” and your head that says, “Dude…I’m in my pajamas and just want to get back to the new season of Mad Men.” My heart won and I listened to him give his elevator pitch. He was convincing enough that I pulled out the credit card and offered $5. He countered, “I’m sorry, but if you’re donating with a card, we can’t take anything under $10.” Huh? You mean to tell me that I’m offering a donation and now I’m being forced to negotiate. The interaction concluded with this poor, persistent guy who braved the snowstorm walking away empty handed.

You might think “you’re making a fuss over $5?” And in theory, you are correct. It was only an additional $5, but the principle outweighed the monetary amount. I couldn’t get beyond this policy. Given that standard credit card fees are between 2% and 3%, for 10-15 cents, this particular organization could have had three valuable assets:

• A new upgradeable donor
• An email address in the database
• A win for the solicitor

As a nonprofit fundraising and marketing professional, I know that all good fundraising plans will include a strategy for upgrading donors, ensure the development department’s collaboration with marketing and celebrate every win no matter how small.

It may be surprising with all the new fangled communication channels available, but email marketing is still the best way to engage your audience and retain donors. If you have a strong email list, then you have hundreds or thousands of motivated people who have already have an interest in your mission accessible to excite with your success stories, invite to events or spread a fundraising campaign. With the right messaging, my $5 donation could have been upgraded to a $20 monthly contribution. The sky was the limit.

The obviously dedicated man could have walked back into the office and counted me among his success stories, increasing the likelihood he’ll continue to go out in the cold and champion the cause but, alas, he couldn’t take my money.

The bottom line is the big picture must be always be considered when developing your fundraising strategy. Remember, there is much more to a donation than the amount. Behind every dollar, there is human being. Consequently, while it is money, it should never be reduced to solely a financial transaction. You can choose to use invigorating methods that will compel support for your cause or you can use those that might be justified financially but also discourage and demoralize potential donors and advocates.

My $5 could have been the beginning of a beautiful friendship, but because of 10 to 15 cents, I guess we’ll never know.

Learn how to avoid this mistake and engage new donors at Development Director Intensive.