Here comes this month’s *SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you). The alternative to fundraising is a lot scarier than fundraising. There are a lot of scary problems in the world. Cancer… global warming… natural disasters… homelessness… domestic violence… human trafficking… malaria… undrinkable water… injustice… poverty… Is fundraising scarier than doing what…
Details
In the past series of posts I’ve talked about the reasons many board members loathe fundraising. It boils down to: (1) fear (see here, here and here; (2) lack of clarity about their role (see here, hereand here, and (3) insufficient framing, training, coaching and cheer leading by staff. As much as we staff …
Details
The absolutely most important game a board member must play is ‘follow the leader.’ In my last post series on “The 3 Ways We Go Wrong Asking Nonprofit Boards to Help Raise Funds” I spe of the unique job board members have as role mos. A growing body of research shows that human beings are,…
Details
Collecting for the poor is an honored tradition In Jewish tradition the “Gabbai Tzedekah,” the money collector, held a very special and esteemed role as the collector and disburser of funds to help the poor. The root of “tzedekah” means justice; it was simply the right thing to do to help. The Gabbai risked him/herself,…
Details
Is this a board member you know? Board members often take unrestrained ight in not cottoning to fundraising. They smile and wink and pat one another on the back about it. “Oh, fundraising, that’s not for me!” “No, it’s yucky; I’ll do anything but fund raise.” “Yeah, fundraising is for folks who like to sell.”…
Details
Last week I tuned in to the Nashville t.v. series premiere. Almost the first words to come out of someone’s mouth (a dad to his daughter): “Honey, it’s bad manners to talk about money.” I recently explored the money taboo as it relates to fundraising. Today’s post digs a bit deeper. Subsequent posts will dig…
DetailsOctober 15th marks the one-year anniversary of the community based Occupy movement. Since philanthropy is about creating a caring community, I’m taking a quick break from my current series of posts about boards and fundraising to remind us what we need to do to fully occupy philanthropy and connect with our best donor prospects as…
Details
The inimitable Hugh MacLeod shows us the key to success Of all the tips I give board members about how to become successful fundraisers, by far the most important is this: Make your own passionate commitment first. Making this commitment entails just three simple things. And I let folks know that these things just happen…
Details
Most fear of fundraising boils down to two factors: (1) fear of rejection, and (2) fear of loing stupid due to insufficient knowledge/skills. It turns out these fears are relatively easy to overcome. But it requires some serious reframing. A move away from begging and towards offering a gift of opportunity. The opportunity to feel joy,…
Details
Why are trustees so nervous about fundraising? I’ve found there are two key reasons. Understand these reasons, and we can put an end to the fears in two easy steps. ONE: Overcome Fear of Rejection. We think we’re asking for ourselves; begging. We’ve been raised that it’s impolite to talk about money. Even worse, no…
Details