Rest

Did you take some downtime this holiday season?  Rest is good.  R&R is required.

It’s good to get away, think about other things, give the gray matter time to chill and rejuvenate.

If you didn’t – do.  It’s worth it.  You’ll be better for it.

And so will your donors.

We talk about resting lists periodically.  But do we really rest them?  Do we really let a list just chill out for a bit and not hear from us for awhile?

Too often, it’s a numbers game.  Multiple hits, multiple solicitations – the more we solicit, the more we communicate, the higher our return will be.  And we do it because it works.

We get responses and hit goals, but for every gift, how many non-respondents opened our third/fourth/tenth email, rolled their eyes and thought, “Just please stop!”?

Sometimes we need to rest.

Maybe it’s time to let all those year-end donors and prospects chill out for a bit?  Let ’em have a break.  Or maybe let them rest by communicating with them but not asking them?  We hit them pretty hard at year-end.  Say thank you (yes, you can thank a prospect as well as a donor).  Send an update.  Wish them Happy New Year.  But maybe give them a rest.

And you take one, too. Urgency is one thing; exhaustion and fatigue can be the by-product of it, though.

Rest takes a risk sometimes, too.  A risk well worth taking.