Myths about fund-raising

• the process is a mystery
• you need a proven track record to be successful
• corporations and foundations give most of the money

1. Organizations are not entitled to support; they must earn it.
   
   
2. Successful fund-raising is not magic; it is simply hard work on the part of people who are thoroughly prepared.
   
   
3. Fund-raising is not raising money; it is raising friends.
   
   
4. You do not raise money by begging for it; you raise it by selling people on your organization.

5. People do not just reach for their checkbooks and give money to an organization; they have to be asked to give.
   
   
6. You don't wait for the "right" moment to ask; you ask now.
   
   

7. Successful fund-raising officers do not ask for money; they get others to ask for it.
   
   
8. You don't decide today to raise money and then ask for it tomorrow: it takes time, patience, and planning to raise money.

9. Prospects and donors are not cash crops waiting to be harvested; treat them as you would customers in a business.