Neighborliness and Giving

This blog is the start of a multi-part series on shifting attitudes in our society and how we, as fund development professionals, continue to thrive. Recently, I got a quick car wash so that I could use the vacuums to clean up the needles from Christmas decorations. After the car wash, I pulled into the parking space in front of the vacuums. I intentionally hugged the left line so that the car on my right could continue to use "my" parking space to lay out her floor mats. Because, boy, so much dirt collects under those floor mats and I understood her predicament. As I was vacuuming the needles, I left the left passenger car door open, going back and forth. Up pulls a large truck. In spite of several empty parking spaces, the driver demanded that I close my car door so she could park next to me. I gestured to the other empty parking spaces and that I was still vacuuming. The driver parked in the spot, barely avoiding hitting my car, and came up to me, yelling at how stupid I am over and over again. I reminded that her that there were other empty spaces and that I…

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Finding balance in the daily tasks

When routine fundraising tasks take up more and more of our days, the high value relationship-building, planning or strategic thinking gets squeezed out. How can we manage our anxiety, accomplish the necessary routine tasks and succeed in our relationship building and strategic planning?

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Are you gift-centered?

Last month, we dove into self-interested donations and the harm it does to the donor. Perhaps you are asking, "Now, what? How should I thank donors???" First, we need to re-frame the question to: How should I thank the gift from the donor? This shift turns the question from praising the donor to praising the action; from the person to the performance. Performance-based praise has been shown to be a more effective reinforcer. This research started in the educational psychology field with children and has quickly expanded into the business world. The difference, in summary, is that person-praise has a "fixed mindset" of innate talent and personality (I am a giver) while performance-praise has a "growth mindset" for maturing as a person (I can become more generous). Wait! Hold the fort! What about being "donor-centered?" Agreed. When I was preparing for my Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) exam, I borrowed Penelope Burk's book, Donor-Centered Fundraising, from a colleague. In actually reading this book and the research, I had a moment of "what I thought I knew, but was wrong about." From the beginning of my fundraising career, I had heard of this concept, attended trainings and applied with I thought I learned; that…

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