Sometimes when I burn the candle at both ends and work long hours, things that normally wouldn’t register with me end up hitting me in funny ways. More often than not, those weird thoughts find their way into my blog posts. For example, a few nights ago I crawled in late at night after a site visit with a client. I turned on the television for a few minutes to unwind, which is when I saw a commercial for a recently released movie titled “Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall“.
Click here or on the video below if you’re now curious about what I saw.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4p4VyP3tH4]
According to one of the movie websites I was researching, “Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall” is about:
“The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows.”
OK . . . OK . . . OK . . . I am sure that many of you are probably wondering:
- Has Erik gone insane? Has he lost it?
- What does this silly sophomoric movie have to do with fundraising?
- How will he tie this into a non-profit topic?
As I laid on my couch twitching from exhaustion watching that commercial for this movie, the following thoughts crossed my mind:
If I could have any superpower, which one would I want? And how would it make me a better non-profit or fundraising professional?
Silly question? Absolutely! But the answer might just be a little telling.
For example, I concluded that I would want the super human ability to “read people’s minds“. As I started thinking about why I might want that superpower, I concluded that knowing what a donor wants and how they want it would make me one of the best fundraising people on the planet.
This realization got me thinking even more about why this might be important to me, and I concluded that I’ve always struggled with the idea of donor research and getting some of the following questions answered before talking with a prospect (or even a current donor):
- How much should we be asking for?
- What are they passionate about and how does our case for support fit?
- Who else do they support?
- Are we in their top three favorite charities?
- Do they have concerns about our agency that they’re holding back on asking?
- What is their capacity? What is their willingness?
This list of questions can go on and on and on. While there are a number of ways that I’ve gone about getting answers to these questions throughout the years, the reality is that “mind reading” would make things so much easier.
Do you have a minute or two in your busy day to do something fun? If so, contemplate the following questions:
- If you could have any one superpower, which one would it be?
- How would it make you a better non-profit or fundraising professional?
- Why did you choose that particular superpower? What insights into who you are (or what you struggle with) does this epiphany give you?
- Since superpowers don’t really exist, what are you going to do now?
Take a minute to share the answers to these questions in the comment box below. We can all learn from each other.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
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This would be a great question for any management team! Great post!
Thanks, my evil queen! 😉
I agree that the question I pose would be an interesting HR exercise for just about anyone or any team. Thanks for props! Keep up the nice work with your blog, too. I always enjoy your stuff and never bite the apple.
~Erik