The following article is excerpted for Hilborn Charity eNEWS readers from the February, 2014 issue of Gift Planning in Canada.
The glitz, the gaffes, the glamour, the grunts—February 2014 marked the start of the Sochi Olympics.
Everyone loves the Olympics. There’s the patriotism, the incredible athletic skill, and the amazing individual stories about the athletes.
But the single biggest reason people tune in to the Olympics is for inspiration. Watching the games is a high-stakes, thrilling experience that unfolds in real time.
As fundraisers, what lessons can we learn and leverage from the Olympics? Here are five ideas to get you started on your very own ‘road to Sochi.’
Be a planner
Imagine waiting four years to ask for a gift. While we only see the Canadian speed skating team at the Olympics every four years, you can be sure that the athletes, their trainers, coaches, nutritionists, and doctors have been meticulously planning out the team’s activities. It’s good to remind ourselves as fundraisers that in a multi-tasking work environment, we must make time for planning.
Work as a team
There is an African proverb that says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Behind every athlete there is a family, a community, a sports organization, and a funder that have worked together to build a path to the Olympics. Nobody gets far without a team.
Eliminate distractions
Getting really good at a sport requires total commitment from an athlete. The sacrifice an athlete makes in order to achieve their goal is immense and activities that do not move them closer to their goal of competing at the Olympics get eliminated. At work, we all have activities or tasks that distract us from the business of raising money for great causes. Eliminate them, or if you can’t eliminate completely, at least marginalize their impact on your team.
Celebrate milestones
For every Sochi Olympics, there are four other World competitions in an athlete’s sport. Celebrating the successes of these milestones is important. By reflecting and taking stock of what worked, and what needs tweaking, these milestones can become the virtual map to your organization’s big picture goal.
Take risks
Commit to putting yourself out of your comfort zone. Olympic athletes are willing to risk it all to reach the podium. Take a chance on a project, a staff member, or a donor. Be willing to put yourself out there and go for the gold.
Fellow fundraisers, take some inspiration from Sochi. Draw on those incredible young athletes: speed skater Denny Morrison, young slopestyle star Dara Howell, or the Dufour-Lapointe sisters in women’s moguls. The Olympics are an emotional reminder that inspiration requires commitment, and that your goals—personal or professional—start from a vision of what’s possible. You can do it!
Jenny Mitchell is the president of Chavender, a fundraising consulting firm in Ottawa that helps clients find Creative Fundraising that Fits. Jenny is an avid tennis player who is building her own personal road to Sochi: her goal is to reach the finals of her first intermediate tennis competition this summer.
