You've hit a roadblock with your fundraising event. How can you turn it around and make it a success?

Clearly communicate how the funds will benefit the organization and potentially the community. Use stories, videos, or testimonials that emotionally connect with potential donors.

Don't ever hesitate to ask, "Nothing asked for nothing got away with" - You never know where a benefactor appears. So don't be needy or pushy but be open and ask everyone and trust that anyone could be your next big investor.

Make lemonade out of lemons. If some assumptions aren't going to be met, and fundraising is going to be down for the event, use it as an opportunity to cultivate future support. Invest in making the event even more mission driven and exciting, so attendees want to come back and maybe give even more next year. And identify people you want to cultivate for your organization, invite them to come as complimentary guests, and have Board members and senior staff spend time with them to talk about the organization's work.

Reset as many times as possible. Most of the proposals are not authentic and therefore do not meet funding threshold. Going back to find the real needs and impact on society at large can turn around things.

If you experience obstacles in the process of fundraising targets, it would be better to step back a few steps. This is necessary to see whether the targets we have set are still realistic or not. The development of this situation and condition will greatly affect the targets we set. In the process of looking back or evaluating, we can determine the right initial steps, better strategies, determine more appropriate relationships or stakeholders for the improvement process. Often, changes in time will be closely related to technology, and this will greatly affect effective and efficient strategies. Including shifting trends, this is an important thing to see.

Many great fundraising supporters are already connected to your organization. Staff, board members & additional volunteers, and even other organizations that benefit from your organization's impact can speak to the influence and importance of the work you're doing. There is so much about fundraising that DOESN'T involve making the ask, but many non-fundraisers think that's what we're asking them to do when we ask them to help raise money! Let them help with the heart work and make connections and then step in to make the ask when the time is right.

Finding ways to incorporate elements to the event that will leverage allies in the community with significant social media followings can help take the communication burden off of our shoulders...by including them in even small ways, they will amplify our communication. Example: As a large urban public library, we are planning a virtual scavenger hunt as part of our fundraising event, using photos taken by local photographers as clues. This gives them a reason to share about our event. It's a win-win!!

Partnership is an important thing to include in the fundraising strategy, because each stakeholder has the capacity and resources that can be connected in the strategy to achieve goals and targets. Therefore, before entering into a partnership, it is better for us to map out the strengths and weaknesses that we have. Because this will be closely related to the shortcomings or weaknesses that we must cover so that goals and targets can be achieved. So, the partnership that we will run answers clear goals with the level of need or gap that must be covered.

Having a positive attitude and mindset in fundraising is mandatory. Although not a few people do things that are still very difficult because they are influenced by many situations and things outside our minds. However, emphasizing a positive attitude and mindset is the main thing, because this is prayer and becomes the spirit that moves all activities to run well. That our attitude and positivity are a request to God, which will have an important role. Apart from human efforts, God's decision is the main thing. Our positive attitude and mindset will influence our team & many parties around us. The more people have a positive attitude and mindset, the more prayers will flow to God. Believe me, this will bring goodness and maximum results.

Many many years ago I was brought in to plan a gala for a small non-profit radio station. I learned through the grapevine that staff had been complaining about the event to each other and their families. I sat them all down and warned them that if they didn't believe in this event, then no one would. I asked them to do their best to speak positively about the event--even at home--or not to say anything at all. We took the time to brainstorm and dream big, and then did everything we could to incorporate some of the crazy-fun ideas. In the end, our event was spectacular, and the more enthusiastic we were about it, the more the creativity flowed and the more the volunteers came out of the woodwork to help us out.