<commit_before>Fundraising Notes
=================

* We have just over two weeks to get $50k in the bank.
* I predict the best way to do this is approach a number of private donors.
  * How do I identify a good potential private donor?
    * Similar contributions in the past?
      * Of what amount should we target? (range has been $5k-$10m)
* Make a list of potential private donors to reach out to.
  * Create a spreadsheet of people, with links to our Pipedrive entry for them.
    * Spreadsheet should have our connection with them, if any.
      * Could write out our method of reaching out to them (cold email, warm
        connection) and the strategy we're using to market to them (hackathon
        culture continuation, empowerment/changemaker, etc)
* Reach out to them and be very aggressive in the sales process.
* What goes next? Should I make the ask in the first call? Should I make the
  ask before like in Quinn's email?
* Somehow close them and get money in the bank so we can actually do real
  things.
* Perhaps having a timeline isn't actually what we should do, when in reality
  we have no idea what we're doing. We should just keep pushing near exhaustion
  until we either (1) get the money or (2) learn enough to create a timeline.
  Focusing on the former will likely teach us the latter when we do more
  fundraising in the future.

Questions for similar nonprofits
--------------------------------

* How much do you usually close a private donor for?
  * How much have they contributed to other (similar?) initiatives in the past?
* What's the process of closing a donor after that initial conversation?

Reflection on past progress (or lack thereof)
---------------------------------------------

* We wasted a lot of time trying to close our first fiscal sponsor.
  * We shouldn't have spent so much time thinking about how we best wanted to
    accept donations. We took too long and now we can't get money from one of
    our sponsors because we don't yet have a fiscal sponsor aligned.
  * We should have immediately gone to another local nonprofit and approached
    them about being our fiscal sponsor instead of looking at the application
    process for different foundations, especially knowing that they'd take
    weeks to process.
* I failed to not notice this in the moment and tried to keep "making
  progress", even thought we didn't know what "progress" was.
  * I should do a better job separating what we tell people to what is actually
    happening in my head. I think telling people that things were great got
    into my head and started to convince me that they were going well and we
    were progressing.
    * It is paramount that I don't let this happen again.<commit_msg>zach fundraising notes: add a bit more rambling<commit_after>Fundraising Notes
=================

* We have just over two weeks to get $50k in the bank.
* I predict the best way to do this is approach a number of private donors.
  * How do I identify a good potential private donor?
    * Similar contributions in the past?
      * Of what amount should we target? (range has been $5k-$10m)
* Make a list of potential private donors to reach out to.
  * Create a spreadsheet of people, with links to our Pipedrive entry for them.
    * Spreadsheet should have our connection with them, if any.
      * Could write out our method of reaching out to them (cold email, warm
        connection) and the strategy we're using to market to them (hackathon
        culture continuation, empowerment/changemaker, etc)
* Reach out to them and be very aggressive in the sales process.
* What goes next? Should I make the ask in the first call? Should I make the
  ask before like in Quinn's email?
* Somehow close them and get money in the bank so we can actually do real
  things.
* Perhaps having a timeline isn't actually what we should do, when in reality
  we have no idea what we're doing. We should just keep pushing near exhaustion
  until we either (1) get the money or (2) learn enough to create a timeline.
  Focusing on the former will likely teach us the latter when we do more
  fundraising in the future.

Questions for similar nonprofits
--------------------------------

* How much do you usually close a private donor for?
  * How much have they contributed to other (similar?) initiatives in the past?
* What's the process of closing a donor after that initial conversation?

Reflection on past progress (or lack thereof)
---------------------------------------------

* We wasted a lot of time trying to close our first fiscal sponsor.
  * We shouldn't have spent so much time thinking about how we best wanted to
    accept donations. We took too long and now we can't get money from one of
    our sponsors because we don't yet have a fiscal sponsor aligned.
  * We should have immediately gone to another local nonprofit and approached
    them about being our fiscal sponsor instead of looking at the application
    process for different foundations, especially knowing that they'd take
    weeks to process.
* I failed to not notice this in the moment and tried to keep "making
  progress", even thought we didn't know what "progress" was.
  * I should do a better job separating what we tell people to what is actually
    happening in my head. I think telling people that things were great got
    into my head and started to convince me that they were going well and we
    were progressing.
    * It is paramount that I don't let this happen again.
* It's interesting how I learn by observation. I learned that file extensions
  don't actually mean anything and are just a string by using Linux and
  realizing that instead of being told/taught. I'll eventually get better at
  fundraising.
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