Is Your Cause Both Urgent and Important?

by George Konetes | Feb 12, 2021 | Digital

Today’s digital fundraising ecosystem is filled with great causes, projects, and relief work that is making a real difference. There is no shortage of great works to support. So, how do you get your message out there and heard? A simple rule of thumb that helps people with prioritization can help your cause stand out and cut through the noise.

When a person is faced with more tasks than they can do, or they simply do not know where to start, a common principle can be employed to help establish priorities.

First, we weigh a task to determine how important it is. Rate it from one to five, one being least important and five being most important.

Second, we determine how urgent a task is. Rate each task on its level of urgency, from one to five.

Some tasks are important but not urgent; there is plenty of time to accomplish them. These can go lower on your to-do list.
Some tasks are urgent, but they are not important; these can be set aside for the moment or delegated to someone else.
Other tasks may be neither urgent nor important; these can go to the bottom of the pile.
The tasks that are both urgent and important are the ones to focus on first.

When it comes to fundraising, all true causes are urgent and important to someone. But the marketing of a cause often does not check both boxes.

Potential donors are most likely to rally around a cause that feels both urgent and important. The cause matters to them so they want to support it, and the need is urgent; they cannot put it off. So, they give now. And they may be prioritizing that cause over others that are not urgent, or do not strike them as important.

You will not be able to be all things to all people, but if you can express the importance of your cause succinctly, and the urgency of it genuinely, then you will succeed more often at inspiring others to take action.