Finding the Courage to Fundraise
Written by Stephanie Clohsey
Anyone who cares about a “cause” will do some fundraising at some point. It is inevitable. And most people who give also report that they also fundraise for the things they believe in. But many of us will agree to do fundraising “kicking and screaming” mostly because we feel unprepared and therefore insecure about the task.
But regardless of how we feel about fundraising, nonprofits—large and small—depend on their staff and volunteers to muster their courage every day to ask others to support their cause. In fact the system of “social good” on which we rely for so many community and human services simply would not exist without fundraising! Most of us live in this cycle of giving and asking.
In organizations that have cracked the code of great fundraising there is a sense of achievement and victory, an enthusiasm for the work and a pervasive sense of hope about the future. So how do we all get that infusion of positive can-do spirit?
The answer is in acquiring some great fundraising know-how that doesn’t take a lifetime to learn!
What exactly is needed for great fundraising? Most volunteers (and fundraising professionals) need the expected: more information, knowledge, preparation, and practice to be comfortable fundraising. But they also need the unexpected: self-reflection; a sense of how asking for funds matches or disturbs their own values; and insight into the donor’s aspirations and desires. In other words anyone doing fundraising will do better if they have both knowledge and insight; it helps to have inner alignment along with skills for the practical task ahead (the ask). Volunteers—and professionals-- need to understand the “soul of money” and they need to find their own voice and courage to do the delicate but bold job of asking somebody to give.
See What I Mean has created a new workbook to launch fundraising in just this dual method knowledge PLUS helping people gain inner strength and courage required “to ask.”
The Four Chapters cover:
Prospecting and Prioritizing a Pipeline of Potential Donors—engage the organization’s leaders and volunteers in identifying and reaching out to their own personal and professional networks in order to build the organization’s potential donor base.
Developing a Compelling Case Statement—learn the skills of telling the best story about the organization and the mission.
Creating Great Relationships: Acquiring and Retaining Funders and Donors—build real relationships with donors so that fundraising is an authentic and effective experience—not just an “ask”.
Building the Courage to Ask—help each professional and volunteer to discover their inner strengths and face their fears about money and asking others for help.
Together these Chapters will help organizations to find their courage and will make it possible to “crack the code” of great fundraising. Use one of the chapters…or use all four (highly recommended) and watch your fundraising improve!
To help you kick off the new year with courage, we’re offering a 50% discount for downloads of the workbook. Use the code FEARLESS to receive the discount by January 31, 2020.
SWIM is the acronym for See What I Mean, a consulting practice that specializes in facilitating and visualizing high impact problem solving for teams in the social and business sectors.