Jack Eason “Station Fundraisers”

Recently, I read an online blog talking about fundraising for Christian radio. In it, the author wrote with great conviction about things their station had learned recently about fundraising. Additionally, the writer spoke about things they were intentionally deciding to do and not to do in future fundraisers. As I read the article, I walked away asking myself a question: “How do/should we decide what to do or not to do when it comes to our station’s fundraiser?”

I won’t give all the cliché answers here that should come first. (Ok, I will: prayer, seeking God, counsel, fasting, etc.)

Let me give you three ways to help you discern making the right decision on details for your fundraisers.

1-THE PROPER EXECUTION

Many times I hear people say, “We tried this and it didn’t work” or “Station A did that and it flopped.” No question that there are some ideas that are ludicrous and that we should learn from other people’s mistakes. More often that not, when I hear these statements and ‘peel back the onion,’ it’s not that the idea was necessarily bad, it’s that the execution was sorry. So then, we sit back and throw darts at an idea that actually was perhaps really good, but because we couldn’t or didn’t execute it well, we deem it as a bad idea. I believe there are a lot of things we have deemed as “bad ideas” that we should be implementing with the right execution.

2-THE PROPER PERSONALITY

Do you realize your station has a unique personality?  Or, at least, it should. If you are a local non-commercial radio station, you have a unique locale, and you should get to know it and understand it. Why is that important? If you are basing your station’s fundraiser on what Station XYZ does, you probably are comparing apples and oranges. And you probably are asking the wrong questions. Sure, there are some general principles that apply across the board, but making core decisions about your fundraiser that don’t take into perspective your local area and your station’s personality are a set up for disaster. Just because you could do what Station XYZ does, doesn’t mean that you SHOULD.

3-THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE

Lastly, one thing I did walk away with after reading this author’s blog was the importance of an outside perspective. Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees and an outside perspective can help us see things afresh and anew. Our team at The Heart Share Group, LLC enjoys helping stations see things in a new light. If you don’t have someone to help you with your perspective, you’ll keep doing the same things expecting different results. 
So, how are things going for your station? Do you need some help in your execution? Do you have ideas you thought were good but didn’t deliver what you hoped?
Have you discovered the uniqueness of your local radio station? Are you leveraging that uniqueness to raise support? Do you need an outside set of eyes to help?

We’d love to serve you. I want to invite you to our next free live webinar on July 6 as we talk about TELLING YOUR STORY. If you are interested, shoot me an email.

Jack Eason is the President of The Heart Share Group, an organization dedicated to helping organizations reach their full potential through leadership development, brand development, and partnership development. Heart Share serves Christian radio through donor development strategies, fundraising initiatives (including on-air campaigns and major donor support), and creative partnerships. Contact Jack at jack@theheartsharegroup.com…