The Hidden Cost of Inaction
Five things that cost your nonprofit more than you realize.
By David Sena | BoldLeading.com
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
— Proverbs 21:5 (NIV)
Opportunity cost isn’t just a finance term. It’s a leadership reality.
I’ve watched too many nonprofit leaders reach late November or early December with the same quiet regret:
“We had more potential than we realized … but we ran out of time.”
The truth is: time doesn’t just disappear. It leaks away through missed conversations, delayed decisions, and reactive leadership.
Here are five opportunity costs I see repeatedly — especially among new executive directors or leaders trying to grow — and what they’re quietly costing your organization.
1. Not Reaching Out to Donors in a Systematic Way
If you are not regularly and intentionally reaching out to donors, December will expose the gap.
I’ve watched many nonprofit leaders wait until Q4 to meaningfully engage donors. By then, they’re not building relationships — they’re hoping for miracles. And even though the donors may give, they recognize the difference between a last-minute request and a relationship.
When you delay donor engagement, you don’t just lose money. You lose:
Trust
Familiarity
Momentum
You also lose the opportunity to encourage deeper partnership and generosity before urgency sets in. Opportunity cost shows up as lost opportunities to share your story and to hear theirs.
There is a way to build and nurture relationships with donors and potential donors even in the midst of packed schedules, unceasing projects, and lean teams.
A simple, weekly 10-3-1 donor engagement rhythm changes everything:
10 donor touches
3 thank-you calls or notes
1 meaningful conversation or meeting
This simple pattern of intentional engagement done consistently will transform your most critical partnerships: your donor relationships.
2. Not Planning Far Enough in Advance for Fall
I’ve watched organizations trying to finalize:
A fall direct mail theme
A campaign message
A giving goal
…days before the final deadline.
That’s not strategy. That’s survival.
The rush to pull things together without time for thoughtful creativity, strategy, and waiting on the Lord’s wisdom and direction allows opportunity to slip away and reservoirs of generosity and potential to go untapped.
Ideally, fall planning should happen 180 days out, allowing:
120 days minimum to gather stories, photos, data, and testimonials,
6 months to coordinate a donor event, or
one year to plan a major gathering when a venue and keynote speaker are involved.
When you start too late:
Creativity gets squeezed,
Messaging becomes generic,
Decisions are rushed,
Results suffer, and
Staff are unduly taxed and burn out.
Late planning doesn’t just limit what you can do — it limits what you’re able to imagine.
3. Not Investing in Your Team’s Growth Before the Rush
If your team is overwhelmed in the fall, the problem likely started in the spring. Or earlier. When leaders don’t encourage learning, training, and improvement before the busy season, they unintentionally drain:
Energy
Creativity
Confidence
Initiative
Teams with time to develop, create, and dream think differently.
They problem-solve instead of panic.
They tell better stories.
They connect more deeply with donors.
Stressed, exhausted teams might still produce but, at best, the results fall short of what was possible. And at worst, they burn out. And leave.
4. Not Engaging Your Board in Donor Relationships
Your board is one of your greatest assets — and possibly one of the most untapped and underutilized. If you’re not inspiring and equipping board members now to help connect with donors this fall, you’re losing:
Warm introductions to new donors and volunteers
Event invitations
Second-degree relationships
Shared ownership of the mission
When boards aren’t engaged early, opportunity is lost. Resistance may also build as late requests for assistance clash with their schedules and demands. Nonprofit leaders end up carrying the burden of fundraising — and that is costly.
5. Not Leaving White Space for God’s Interruptions
Not leaving time and margin for unanticipated interruption could be the most overlooked “cost” for nonprofits.
If your calendar has no margin, you might miss:
A timely donor call
A spontaneous conversation
A divine appointment
A moment of encouragement for a staff member
White space isn’t laziness and failure to “make the most of every opportunity." It’s faith-filled availability.
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
— Proverbs 16:9
Sometimes God’s provision shows up disguised as an interruption — and busy leaders often don’t recognize it in time — or simply don’t “have time” to stop for it.
The Invitation
None of this is about shame. It’s about stewardship.
The most expensive thing in many nonprofits isn’t lack of funding — it’s inaction. Avoidance. Procrastination. And being too “busy” to break for what matters most.
If you feel behind, stuck, reactive, or ineffectively pushing through the paces, you’re not alone. And you don’t have to stay there.
This is the time of year to make a change.
It’s the perfect season to:
Build rhythms
Plan earlier
Equip your team
Engage your board
Create margin for God to move
December doesn’t have to be a month of rushed reckoning.
It can be a celebration — if you choose differently now.
Final Word
The 10 Letters Project
One year, instead of asking our board to “help with fundraising,” we gave them something clear and practical to do. We worked with each board member to send a personal letter to ten people in their network — inviting them to consider partnering with our organization.
We didn’t rush it. We allowed 90 days to:
Clarify the message
Refine the stories
Help board members feel confident in what they were sharing
Plan follow-up
Thank every person who responded
The result?
We raised thousands of dollars.
We connected new friends to the mission.
And perhaps most importantly — we equipped our board to confidently tell the story themselves.
Had we not done this exercise, the opportunity cost would have been assuming our board members “weren’t fundraisers.” Instead, we discovered they simply needed structure, support, and a clear message to become even more engaged in raising funds and telling our story.
Want Help Turning Opportunity Into Momentum?
At BoldLeading.com, we help nonprofit leaders move from reactive to intentional — with clear plans, smart donor strategy, and sound leadership support rooted in stewardship and trust.
The opportunity is before you. Will you claim it in time?
About Bold Leading
For more than 10 years, Bold Leading has helped nonprofit leaders develop strong teams, establish healthy principles and processes, and grow their capacity in marketing, fundraising, and strategy—so they don’t merely survive but thrive in their mission to serve and share Jesus.
If you’re ready to move forward with confidence—or could simply use a fellow leader to pray and think with—we’d love to talk with you.
Dave Sena
Dave is a Christian nonprofit leader and consultant who equips faith-based, Gospel-centered organizations to serve with excellence. As an ordained minister, former non-profit CEO, and Air Force Academy graduate with a BS in Computer Science, Dave’s passion is to help ministry leaders share the message of Jesus with clarity and confidence.
Contact: dave@boldleading.com
Visit: BoldLeading.com
“Go to the ant… consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” — Proverbs 6:6–8 (NIV)
Love this. Opportunity cost is my favorite economic term to bring to the nonprofit leadership conversation.