Here’s a common pain point for many fundraising leaders: we’re spending too much time on the operations of the shop, and not enough time connecting with donors.  But there is a way to reclaim some time.  It’s not sexy. It’s not glamorous. It’s kind of a pain to implement at first. It’s for sure never a priority. But it will—in the long term—make your life and your work so much more effective.   And that’s standardizing our operations with a series of SOPs, trainings, FAQs, templates and systems.  Think of it as building an operating system for your fundraising operations. Here’s what each element of the operating system looks like: SOPs are standardized operating procedures. They show you what to do. Usually a step by step instruction, or a checklist. Most nonprofits probably have a basic 30-50 SOPs they could create today that are the core of their revenue ops. Trainings show you how to think. They are usually a slide decks, videos, PDFs, courses or even books.  An FAQ knowledge base helps you avoid wasting time and answering the same questions over and over. A good FAQ base empowers your team to find answers quickly without getting bottle-necked by the leader. Templates show you how to work. A good template library is a giant shortcut so you don’t start from scratch every time. A project management  system houses everything in one spot. Usually some sort of took like Airtable,  Asana, ClickUp, Monday.com or even Google Sheets.Combined, this operating system will become the brain of your operations. GET CONNECTED Follow Louis Diez on LinkedIn  Follow Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn  Join the Donor Participation Project here—a community of fundraisers who get together every month to co-create solutions that increase donor participation. Get access to the 5 Minute Fundraising Fix—a FREE mini course that will help you craft compelling fundraising messages that move donors to action and increase response.  ABOUT THE HOSTS Louis Diez advises nonprofits in annual fund development, digital fundraising, and engagement strategies. He's the founder and host of the Donor Participation Project and VP, Community at Almabase. Mike Duerksen is the founder and CEO of BuildGood, a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. He also hosts the Build Good Fundraising Podcast.