You don’t have to change who you are to fundraise
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Dear friends, comrades, and colleagues,
At the end of my Building a Joyful Culture of Fundraising training, I asked people what they were taking away. One person wrote: “You don’t have to change who you are to fundraise.”
I thought, “yep, that’s exactly it.” We’d spent our time together reframing fundraising and talking about building fundraising teams, and they’d captured something I want both the people leading those teams and the people joining them to know.
When people picture a fundraiser, they often imagine someone polished, comfortable talking about money, and connected to wealthy people. They may also picture stressful work that nobody would ever volunteer to do. That leaves out people who are already building relationships, telling stories, bringing others together, and moving people to act, because they care about the work and enjoy doing it with others.
Those skills belong in fundraising. Giving is a way to take action on something you believe in, and making an ask offers someone a chance to participate, not asking them for a favor. People can make that invitation in their own voices. Our job is to help them recognize what they bring, then build a team where they can try it together, with clear roles, practice, and support.
Whether you’re an Executive Director, development staffer, organizer, or board member, you can help people see that connection. Someone who’s great at mobilizing folks to go to an event might still tell you, “I could never fundraise.” But they already know how to recognize who might care about the work and invite them to take part. They don’t need a new voice or to change who they are to fundraise. They need a chance to apply the skills they already have, and encouragement and support to try.
Building a team means using your organizing skills, too. Get to know what people care about and what they’d like (or be willing) to try. Give them a shared goal and specific roles. Prepare and practice together, make sure they have someone to turn to for support, and celebrate what they learn and accomplish. That’s how people begin to trust one another, grow more confident, and want to do it again.
This is also where joy can enter the work. There’s joy in talking about something you believe in with other people who care. A phonebank with snacks and a little friendly competition can be fun. So can watching someone make an ask they were nervous about, then decide they want to do it again. The pressure to raise money is still real, but people also get to feel connected to one another and proud of what they’re doing together.
I put together a short Key Ideas and Next Steps resource to help you bring more people into the work and make space for joy. It brings together the training’s central ideas about who can participate in fundraising, what it takes to work as a team, and how to make the work feel more connected to your values. It also offers manageable places to start with people already involved in your organization.
Take a look with your staff, board, or any group that’s ready to do a little more. Which activity could you try together in the next month?
Hit reply and tell me what you’re thinking of trying. I’d love to hear where you and/or your team is starting, or what’s making it hard to get started. If it would be useful to talk it through, you can also book a free conversation with me.
Finally, you can watch the recording here (Passcode: a29f+Z+#).
As always, keep up your amazing work.
In solidarity,
Nikki
