Earlier this week, I had lunch with a friend and fund development colleague, Catherine, who is doing incredible work at the organization she serves. We were chit-chatting about fundraising in general when she made a wonderful comment.
“When people ask me about my job, it’s not about fund raising. My job is about building connections, connecting people to community. I love connecting people to what they care about and to each other. It’s all about [the donor’s] need for connection in our world.”
This comment came on the heels of another eNews I read recently from Marc Pitman. In his reflection, he stated,
“Last week, at the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference, fundraising legend Jeff Brooks shared a perspective I think will help you in making your 5 – 10 calls this week. First, he showed a picture of a soldier leading an army. Everyone was marching in lockstep. He said that nonprofits tend to think of donors this way: the nonprofit is out in front (like the lead soldier) leading an army of committed donors, willing to sacrifice for the nonprofit’s cause. He then showed a reversed image: a soldier leading the same army in a different direction. He said this is how the donor sees giving: she’s in front of an army of nonprofits who fight for her values. He said the second picture is closer to reality. Donors pick nonprofits that represent their values. The nonprofits can come and go on the donor’s choosing. And nonprofits that realize the donor is in charge of her army will be the ones that successfully raise money. The nonprofits that say, these values seem to match yours. So this week as you make your calls, experiment with coming more from a place of asking for a part in the donor’s army rather than as a commanding general dictating how a donor gives.”
Much has been written about how social connections are weakening in our American society. To name a couple… How we feel more lonely. How we have fewer close friends.
In the research by Derrick Feldman of The Millennial Impact Report, he found that millennials approach nonprofits because they want to belong. As the relationship is built, they may believe in the core beliefs that drive the work and then own those beliefs. But, first, they want to belong… they want to connect to a community. This holds true for other generations, too, according to his research. He summarized this by saying,
“Self-organizing approaches are based on individual narratives [of belonging] and story-telling rather than institutional interests [aka, nonprofit interests].”
Imagine how this shifts how we approach and respond to donors.
Our thank you notes would no longer start with, “Thank you for giving to XYZ nonprofit.” Instead, they would begin with phrases that emphasize the belonging that the donor is seeking.
Instead of seeing a donor stopping by our offices as an interruption, we would welcome and encourage the meaning of being present with a fellow human who wants to be connected to a community they are building in their lives.
When we consider donor-centered messages and fund development techniques, we would no longer view these strategies as simply a means to the end in order to receive increased fund raising dollars.
And, more.
Whether we see our role as a member of the donor’s army, a community or an individual narrative, our fund development tasks, techniques and philosophy should seek the good for the donor.