There is nothing in fundraising that is worth doing once. Doing a few basic things consistently and consistently well over time is the not-so-secret formula for success in development. Simple, right? Well, not exactly.

Many organizations struggle with consistency in their fundraising programs. And the reasons are familiar. They range from high turnover in development personnel to an inability to say no to “sure thing” schemes, like the ever-alluring appeal of the social media campaign that is certain to go viral (“Seriously, it’s like the Ice Bucket Challenge but for liberty!”).

Boards and even organizational presidents often talk about “The Game Changer” in development: the one super-competent development director or the mega donor who will turn things around. They think “If we could just do X, our fundraising problems would be solved forever.”

Consistency always trumps sporadic implementation of the ever-elusive game-changer. At root, successful fundraising programs do two things consistently and consistently well over time: They (1) acquire new donors cost-effectively and (2) retain, cultivate, and move existing donors up the giving ladder over time. Great fundraising successes—mega donors, epic planned gifts, lucrative annual dinners—are born out of repetition and consistency, not wishful thinking.

So what can you do to maintain consistency in your fundraising program?

Plan Your Work

The concept behind creating a development plan is simple: to arrive at success, it’s best to know how you intend to get there. Not just any plan will do. It must be a plan that speaks in concrete terms—one that identifies where the money will come from, when, and who’s responsible for getting it. It must have a good chance of working, given the situation in which you find yourself and the resources  likely  at your disposal.
A basic plan can be as simple as a calendar that pinpoints tasks, deadlines, and responsible parties.

For many organizations, putting together a strategic development plan is intimidating. It can be difficult to carve out the time necessary to do such planning; it may be challenging to referee between different organizational interests and factions, and it is all too easy to put together “wish lists,” which may be useful, but are not strategic. Don’t let this deter you. All successful organizations know where they want to go and how they are going to get there.

Do Fewer Things Better 

Fundraisers can be pulled in many different directions. In some smaller organizations, development directors may be responsible for events, direct mail, major donor meetings, planned giving, foundation relationships, and grant writing (little wonder there is a fast-food-industry turnover rate in development!). Often as a result of doing too much, the most important things suffer: a house file is skipped or misses its drop date; foundation reports are put off; letters of gratitude or follow-up phone calls are delayed; new donor-acquisition letters never get out the door. A dozen missed deadlines can add up to significantly fewer donors and donations by year’s end.

Doing more is not always better. There is no sense in planning a gala dinner if your house file isn’t going out on time or if letters of gratitude are piling up on your desk. If resources are limited, assess the core elements of your fundraising program—acquiring new donors and cultivating them—and cut out the extras. For most organizations, that means paying meticulous attention to house-file donors, mailing to them consistently, and regularly mailing to acquire new donors.

Get Work Done Through Other People 

Inability to delegate responsibilities to co-workers undermines consistency, especially in smaller organizations whose founders are still at the helm. Founders often have a special relationship with the organization’s first generation of donors. Over the years, they may come to believe that only their voice, their way of writing, and their touch will make the magic happen. So every house-file letter, every letter of gratitude, every foundation proposal (and letter, and meeting, and luncheon) must spring from their bosom. Insisting on doing everything yourself creates, among other things, bottlenecks that result in missed deadlines and inconsistency.

This is also true of presidents, executive directors, and development directors who don’t know how to delegate. The goal of leadership is not to raise all the money yourself but to build the institutional backbone—the processes, procedures, and protocols—that empowers others to become effective fundraisers.

Create Accountability Measures 

Organizations often over-interpret their fundraising results, both good and bad. A couple of low-performing donor-acquisition letters and the organization’s leaders are ready to abandon direct mail, despite the fact that it works for thousands of other organizations. Or a one-off meeting that produces an unexpected gift is over-interpreted to mean that every introduction at the country club will be golden. Fundraising then becomes all about chasing rich people at the expense of cultivating lower-dollar donors who have already made a financial commitment to the organization and who have a greater lifetime giving value than the rich person who has never given a gift.

Consistency allows organizations to assess what is and is not working over time. It fosters testing, evaluating, and recalibrating based upon outcomes, not hunches. High-performing organizations take time to assess their results, and they create accountability measures—like quarterly development assessments, development audits, and regular accountability meetings—where they can learn from their successes and failures. Consistency will take the guesswork out of your fundraising.

Jeffrey Cain is a founding partner at American Philanthropic, LLC. He lives in Poulsbo, Wash. with his wife and three children.