Many fundraisers average 100 hours per year talking to donors. What can you do to turn those critical hours into your peak performance?

If you watch the NFL, you know an average football game lasts a little over 3 hours — but how much of that time is spent playing the game?

You might think the actual playing time in a football game is 60 minutes because that’s how much time is on the game clock. But when you actually add up the time, from the snap of the ball to the play being whistled dead. It’s only about 11 total minutes. 

It’s hard to believe that during that 3+ hours of a football game only 11 minutes or 5% of the time is where the ball is in play and the game is decided. The other 95% of the time is spent on coaching, picking plays, huddles, set-up. All of that is important — but the critical moments are just 5% of the time.

What’s interesting is that as a fundraiser, your work is no different.

In any given week, there are hours that go into setting up a donor meeting, checking in with staff, and doing the work of your nonprofit.  

But when you total the time in the week when you are sitting down with a donor, or talk on the phone or on Zoom and are actually asking for a donation.  It only a few hours. 

For many fundraisers, it averages around 2 hours per week. And when you total all the weeks in the year.  You get about 100 hours.

100 critical hours.  The 100 hours where you are in the game and it’s all on you. You are talking to the donor, you’re making your pitch, and you make the ask.  If these 100 hours go well you have a great year.  

But here’s the interesting thing.  100 hours is 5% of the time we work in a year.  Just like in an NFL, these are the minutes that matter the most. 

And think about all the hours of practice, the drills, the planning, the coaching that football teams spend to make that 5% go the very best way possible.  

The question to ask yourself is this. 

What can I do this week to make those 100 hours successful? 

Can I practice my pitch? 

Can I make sure I have time before my donor meeting, to clear my mind and go in with total focus? 

Can I follow up again with a prospect to book the meeting?

We all know the things to work on, to polish, to improve. Where we need to put in the work.

Go do it, decide right now. 

Make that 5%…those 100 hours your peak performance.  

Make every one of those key moments count. 

And at the end of the year, there might not be a SuperBowl for you, but instead -- you get to do work that changes the world.