When I first became Executive Director of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, one of my early conversations was with Sam Schuchat, who was my counterpart at the California LCV. Over the years, I learned many things from Sam, particularly about fundraising.
He produced a 1-page summary of his fundraising rules, entitled The Ten Commandments of Fundraising. I was recently going through old paper files and recycling materials I’d never use again. I was struck by how well Sam’s Ten Commandments had stood up to the test of time, leaving aside the obvious missing references to email and online giving.
I made some tiny edits to his work.
They are worth sharing with anybody new to fundraising or anybody who needs a reminder about how fundraising tends to work (or not work).