Give Major Donors Something They Actually Want to Fund
I often read Maria Popova’s newsletter The Marginalian, and recently happened upon a piece on Marianne Moore on the Three Elements of Persuasive Writing. Moore, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, had set down her views on writing in a series of essays.
Being a connoisseur of the art of creating persuasive fundraising appeals, my ears perked up. Perhaps her thoughts on “writing” might have something useful to inform my thinking on “fundraising.”
Indeed, it did!
3-Element Formula for Persuasive Writing
Moore arrived at the following – a three-legged psychological stool, if you will:
- Humility,
- Concentration, and
- Gusto
She also echoed the writer Rachel Carson, who spoke about one’s “integrity of vision,” offering this sage writing advice:
“If you write what you yourself sincerely think and feel and are interested in, the chances are very high that you will interest other people as well.”
Light bulb moment!
3 Elements of Persuasive Fundraising
I was immediately struck with how much this thinking aligns with what I always tell would-be fundraisers about the transformative power of personal passion – you must get in touch and connect with your own passion first.
In fact, I contend success in fundraising all boils down to a simple passion triumvirate:
- Connect with your own passion
- Enact your passion
- Share your passion
Maria writes (highlights are my own):
“How we name what we feel is not so much a matter of our writing style as of our style of being, because in order to articulate something we must first apprehend it and we apprehend every smallest thing with the whole person — with the frame of reference that is our entire life, the sum of our experience and memory.”
Let’s look at these three passion elements one at a time.
1. Connect with your own passion.
This is where Moore’s humility and integrity come into play.
When you honestly believe in something, you can’t help but express it well and with heartfelt authenticity. But first you must apprehend and name what you feel. Remind yourself what drew you to this organization and cause in the first place. What about it do you value? Did they help you, and you’re now giving back? Are you fulfilling a moral or religious obligation? Dig deep, and do whatever you must to understand the why of your involvement. Perhaps for you it’s reading scriptures… or inspiring quotes… or meditation… or walks in nature… or talking to friends… or singing, painting, dancing… whatever reveals your profound beliefs, joys and passions.
This is about as human as you can get – because your own passion belongs to you. Memorizing someone else’s script, or asking AI to draft you a script, can’t hold a candle to sincere expression of values deeply felt.
TO DO: Tell the story that most deeply resonates with you – the bottom line, honest “why” of your involvement. If you’re going to preach religion, you’ve got to get religion. Once you’ve “got” it, and you’re in touch with your values, then…
2. Enact your passion.
There is no more concentrated act than thoughtfully focusing and doing what you preach.
Moore wrote that concentration is indispensable to persuasion. The same is true about making your own passionate gift before asking others to join you. Really care about seeing this vision fulfilled? Put your money where your mouth is! And not just in a way that pays lip service to the endeavor.
Half-hearted, token and begrudging gifts won’t cut it here. You must concentrate all your energies on finding the best, most focused expression of that which you seek to communicate – not only to others, but to yourself.
Make your own gift, and make it at a passionate stretch level. There’s simply no substitute for this. Board members provide the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” — that this is a worthwhile and effective organization worthy of philanthropic support — and others will look to see what they’re doing before they’ll make their own commitments.
TO DO: Make a stretch gift – something passionate and emotional for you — to your cause. If you’re going to talk it, you’ve got to walk it. If board members don’t make leadership gifts, then why would anyone else do so? It’s important to lead by example. Once you’ve made your own passionate gift, and are ardently practicing your religion, it’s time to…
3. Share your passion.
When you’re really excited about something, it’s human nature to share – with gusto.
Once you overcome the “fundraising (money) taboo” and understand you’re really enabling philanthropy – (love of humanity), then asking becomes a natural outgrowth of involvement. It’s really no different than asking someone to… join you in a book group you enjoy… an exciting new restaurant… a worship group… a yoga class… Unless you’re trying to keep your cause a secret, why not share?
Moore writes gusto “thrives on freedom,” and this is exactly how you want your fundraisers to feel. Because, when they do, they’ll inevitably lift people up rather than “pin them down,” “twist their arm,” or exhort them to “give ‘til it hurts.” One of the reasons board – and staff – hate fundraising is because they feel coerced to ask for money – something no one is excited about. But when you ask for an outcome – a dream fulfillment, mission achievement, or value or vision expression – in which you’ve passionately invested in yourself? That feels different.
Passion is contagious. Especially when it is sincere.
TO DO: Ask someone else to join you in making a philanthropic – “love of humankind” –gift.
Always Lead with Your Passion
It amazes me how detached some nonprofit leaders can sound when asked about what their organization does. People approach me for help raising money, and forget to lead with why they want to do so.
Something presumably led them to align themselves with this cause, but the vision, mission and values about which they are (hopefully) passionate are now taking a backseat to the chore at hand. And the chore of fundraising is not what they, or donors, are interested in. “Help us meet our fundraising goal” will fall on mostly deaf ears. Or, at least, disimpassioned ones.
Fundraising is merely servant to philanthropy. And philanthropy – love of humanity – is born of passion.
Passion is Particularly Potent in Major Gifts Fundraising
Check out my Major Gifts Playbook.
Major gifts are not just for the behemoths!
I invite you into this easy, step-by-step, four-volume journey — where you’ll learn how to develop and implement a successful major gifts program for your small to medium-sized organization.
Each Companion Guide contains 20 – 65 pages and presents everything you need to know to kick start or rev up your major gifts program, and develop a system that produces exceptional results for your nonprofit. You won’t just find theory and background. You’ll find plenty to reinforce your learning and serve as handy tools this year and in the future.
- Practical Tips
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Questions? Email me at claire@clairification.com. I respond to every email personally.
Photo by Chandan Chaurasia on Unsplash
2 Comments
I hope the Executive leadership of your NPO subscribers will share this post with their respective Board Chairs, who in turn will share it with all the Board members. This takes some bravery on the Executives’ part.
My belief is that most Boards are under-achievers in fundraising — significantly so. And that’s the case, at least in part, because they’re “permitted” to be.
Members come on the Board, and “fundraising” is allowed to be more a topic of typically limited discussion than the “required” part of the members’ duties to the Board and the organization it is and must be.
The word fundraising, while the correct term for an NPO’s need to raise funds for its operations, is part of the problem.
Board members with a zeal for “fundraising” are hard to come by. More typically, Board members have some level of fear about “asking for money,” and therefore tend to avoid this duty. They don’t really want to do it.
Because of that ever-looming scenario, I’ve proposed to the NPO Executives and Board members I interact with that they put a focus on “FRIENDRAISING.” It’s far easier for most people to raise friends than to raise funds.
The best part of friendraising is that Board members DON’T have to “ask for money.” They establish, nurture, and build real relationships with the NPO’s supporters/donors.
In so doing, they rather “automatically” raise funds. Perhaps not initially, but over the long term.
Long and lasting relationships are built and maintained by the Board members. Such relationships become a primary source of the funds the NPOs need to fulfill their respective missions and visions.
I have a phrase for this: “FUNDS FLOW FROM FRIENDS.”
Ideally, all Executive Directors and Board Chairs give the topic of “FRIENDRAISING” the top billing it deserves.
Amen, Craig. <3