Are you hardy?

March 30, 2008

Posted in Fundraising and General.

(jcheever via sxc.hu)

Hardiness is a term used to describe plants’ ability to survive adverse growing conditions. That is, a plant can exist with very little water, sunlight, soil, and so on. Imagine a flower in the desert—or as the photo shows, a tree growing up through solid rock.

A hardy non-profit organization is one that survives—even thrives—with few resources. With very little funding and declining numbers of volunteers, they find creative ways to keep going just a little longer.

For many organizations, this feels like a weakness. But for potential donors, this is a piece of the story. If you routinely have to stretch one dollar into fifty, that’s not a weakness: it’s a huge return on investment. Show how much you have done with what little you have, and donors will see an opportunity.

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