In fundraising we’re never starting fresh. It might be a new calendar year – or a new fiscal year. . . or both – but our work is a continuation of what came before. We’re continuing to build relationships with prospects and donors.

So here are five ways to hit the ground running in 2016:

Focus on the Top

Make a list of your Top 25 donors (and prospects) and identify action steps to complete for each of them between now and March 31st. Always remember that 80% of your funds will come from 20% of your donors, so spend 80% of your time on that 20%.

Don’t Wait Until the Fall to Ask

A mature major gift program (any gift worth asking for in person is a major gift!) cultivates AND asks throughout the year. Don’t make the mistake of leaving all your asking for late in the calendar year. Most donors will make a gift – or at least a commitment – when you sit down to ask them. Early in the calendar year your donors’ funds are not as likely to already be designated. Further, by spreading the asking out you can make more quality asks in the year.

Enlist Help From Your Board and Staff

You cannot do it alone. Sometimes it seems easier to just do it yourself rather than deal with everyone’s antipathy toward asking. So start working to develop a culture of asking at your organization. #1 – make sure to discuss the board’s role in fundraising at most board meetings. Here’s my checklist for developing a culture of asking.

Understand Your Strengths and Use Them

There’s no such thing as a “perfect” asker – or ask! We all bring our personal strengths to the table and will ask in our own way. Yes, there are best practices to learn, but it’s also critically important to be authentic. Do you know your Asking Style? If not, take 3 minutes to find out.

Remember Why You Love Your Organization

It’s easy to get caught up in the work – always another person to cultivate or more research to be done – and in the process get disconnected from the cause and lose the passion. Start the year by reconnecting to the cause. Visit a program. Volunteer your time. Speak to a program director. Re-read the annual report. Review the outcomes statistics. What will best remind you why you care?