Why you should think of Olympic time trial cyclists when setting fundraising targets

OK, bear with me here. This blog has been in my head for quite a few months, but I think I’ve got something to share with you, so here goes. Last summer, I watched a lot of the TV coverage of the Olympics, and one Saturday the event that was being covered was the cycling Time Trial event.

I don’t know whether you’ve seen it before, but it’s quite unusual in that each participant sets out individually 90 seconds apart in lonely pursuit of the cyclist in front of them, and hoping to be fastest on the course to get the gold medal.

But why am I telling you this? Well, the commentator said something that really stuck with me. Essentially, the point they made about pacing was that it was all in the minds of the cyclists:

• If they thought they definitely wouldn’t be able to finish going at that speed, they were going too quickly;
• If they thought they definitely would be able to finish going at that speed, then they were going too slowly; but
• the Goldilocks just-right speed for an Olympic Time Trial cyclist, the commentator said, was if they were not sure if they would be able to finish going at that speed.

In other words, to be successful, the cyclists have to spend as much time as possible embracing that uncertainty, because too quick or too slow would rule them out. The sweet spot, it seems, lies in the uncomfortable and I’m sure extremely painful middle ground: they’re pushing at the boundaries of their abilities, aiming for a pace that can be described as “maybe“.

This got me thinking over quite a few months about how this is a compelling analogy for how we should set our fundraising targets. I would argue that successful fundraising should operate on a similar principle:

If we set a target that is too low and too achievable, we might ensure an easy win, but it won’t inspire excitement, passion, or a sense of achievement in either our supporters or our team of fundraisers and volunteers.

On the other hand, an unrealistically high target that is unachievable may well lead to disillusionment and fatigue within our team of staff and volunteers, but may also be questioned by the donors supporting it, or they may feel the part they’re playing is way too small.

So the magic in fundraising target setting clearly lies in identifying that stretch target – the cycling time trialist’s “maybe” pace, if you will. The number that feels like it could just about be within our reach, but only with a huge amount of effort, skill, creativity, and determination.

I think that the “maybe” target can be effective because it can motivate us to rise to the occasion. It can create a great sense of urgency and focus, but at the same time, that very uncertainty (“Can we really do this?”) can fuel our excitement and our commitment. The uncertainty of success can keep us all engaged, while the possibility of achieving something remarkable can drive us forward.

So next time you’re setting your fundraising targets, take a moment to picture that Time Trial cyclist, and think about what may be achievable.

[Image generated by Microsoft Copilot]