They pushed back on my fundraising strategy rec

One of my Funded 2.0 clients just pushed back on my biggest recommendation.

Honestly, I expected them to.

During our fundraising diagnostic, we'd identified 3 fundraising streams with real potential for them as a local organization in Malawi.

The Executive Director looked at me and asked,
"They're all good ideas. Why wouldn't we do all 3?" 💡

Fair question. It is tempting. Because saying yes feels like you're keeping your options open.

Instead of answering directly, I told her and her team a story.

"If you spend all day digging 10 shallow wells, you'll still be thirsty. But instead if you dig just one well deep enough, you'll find water."

I think about fundraising the same way, especially now. The funding landscape has changed. Donors are becoming more specialized. Competition is fiercer than it used to be.

Focus isn't just helpful anymore. It's a competitive advantage.

So we made a decision. Not 3 priorities. One. One fundraising stream to focus on catalyzing over the next four months.

The others weren't bad ideas. They just weren't the best place to focus first.

This is a mindset shift I find myself coming back to over and over with clients. More fundraising streams doesn't automatically lead to more funding. Every stream comes with its own relationships, skills, systems, messaging, and follow-through. Trying to build them all at once usually means none of them gets the attention it deserves.

One of the hardest parts of fundraising isn't deciding what to say yes to.
It's deciding what you're willing to say "not yet" to.

That's where real strategy begins.

It's also why I create a personalized fundraising diagnostic and roadmap for each Funded 2.0 client organization when they start. Before we write a proposal or build a donor pipeline, we figure out which well is actually worth digging. ⛏️

 
Regardless of if you work with me, here's my question for you:

If your organization had to go all in on one fundraising stream over the next year, which would you choose?

Start there.