IF you can only have one. Which do you choose?
The basic alarm clock. Mechanical. Simple. Reliable. Gets the job done.
There are a lot of modern innovations and improvements on this tool. They still do the same work. With a few more bells and whistles.
This one still works when the power’s out. Or the battery is dead. (doesn’t use a battery)
Before you can get super sophisticated, you’ve got to master the basics.
Despite the claims of the schlockmeisters (and we know who they are) you can’t skip steps. You can move more quickly if you have a little help.
It’s no different in the world of nonprofit fundraising.
Artificial intelligence currently is all the rage—and the topic of many a conversation.
Suddenly fundraising seems so easy.
Or is it?
Artificial intelligence or “AI” as it’s known, does have a role in fundraising.
Albeit a limited tertiary role. Very limited.
There’s another acronym that stands for something far more important to fund development than AI will EVERY be.
Emotional Intelligence Quotient or “EQ”.
The most successful fundraising is done with individuals with high levels of EI.
What is it?
Listening, watching and evaluating—everyone and everything.
Thoughtfully parsing every social and business encounter.
Being able to “read the room” as they say.
Emotional intelligence comes from your own level of emotional maturity. The best fundraisers have very high levels of it.
Emotional intelligent persons do not feel entitled. They don’t indulge in fantasies of victim hood. They meet adversity with courage and drive to move forward—continually. They are extremely good listeners.
When’s the last time you were in a coffee shop, and you ordered “black” coffee only to be asked by the server “do you want cream or sugar?”
Classic non-listening.
This one ability exercised continually will get you farther as a fundraiser than perhaps anything else. (Hint: AI doesn’t listen. It only repeats what its creator has loaded.)
It starts with personal maturity and a desire to know. Being curious. Not being bounded by one’s immediate experience. Avoiding judgement. A driving need to understand. Without presumptions. Or assumptions.
If you’re looking to hire a fundraiser, you’re better (much better) off hiring someone with a lot of EQ—even with no prior fundraising experience—than all the AI you can afford.
Raising money, effectively and sustainably is much more about how you’re thinking that what you’re doing. Want to learn the right way to think? Let us show you.
Never forget that.
You won’t be disappointed. Sometimes, you’ll be awestruck. And you’ll certainly have a lot more fun in the process.