Once I had a job interview for a fundraising job. The VP of the fundraising department said with a glow in his eyes, “We just did a wealth screening of our donor list, and we have a billion dollars of potential.” I didn’t get the job, so I can’t say how much those donors gave. But I can guarantee it wasn’t a billion dollars. Not even close.

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Counterintuitive is usually defined as something contrary to what one would intuitively expect. For example, marketing pros discovered long ago that the fewer choices we’re presented with, the more likely we are to actually choose one, whether it’s a lot full of new cars or a shelf full of pasta sauces in the supermarket.

Fundraising is often counterintuitive as well. Here I’ll share four instances. In my book, The Busy Volunteer’s Guide to Fundraising, you’ll find a fuller discussion of many others.