I don’t usually do this, but today I’m incorporating the full text of a blog by Seth Godin. It’s not about philanthropy or fundraising. Or, is it? He says it’s about ‘goodwill,’ or the lack thereof. What it costs you to lose it. I say – you really should read what he says and take…
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Can the act of philanthropy make people feel better?
I say “Yes. Absolutely.” Much has been written about the warm glow that comes from giving.
So why not think about fundraising as a caring act, and fundraisers (aka ‘philanthropy facilitators’) as trusted helpers and healers?
Reframing fundraising in this way can be your key to:
(1) committing to major individual donor fundraising (helping people to be the people they’d like to see in the mirror), and
(2) engaging more staff, volunteers and board members in this noble endeavor (so they experience not just the joy of giving, but the joy of helping others give).
It helps to understand the similarities in findings from functional MRI research on both the placebo and philanthropy effects.
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We’re entering an era of uncertainty.
For many, this has been a gut-wrenching week. And not just in the United States. People around the world are struggling with how to make sense of global events. Not just the American elections (though this is a huge sea change), but also escalating, senseless violence across the planet, threats to freeedom of speech, religion and assembly, the spread of fake news, a deepening divide between classes, and a creeping sense of dread as events begin to seem out of our control.
And, to be honest, this may feel like just the tip of the iceberg.
The world can seem a cruel and barbaric place.
Philanthropy – love of humankind — can seem elusive.
Yet it’s right here. In each of us.
Love is connected to the things you believe in. The values you hold most dearly. The dreams you have and cherish.
Now is the time to be more loyal to your values and dreams than to your fears.
Give yourself permission to trust your own dreams. Be open to them. Don’t critique them or tell yourself they cannot happen. Not now.
Be on your own side, and on the side of your family, friends, neighbors and the entire planet that needs you to restore balance. Don’t wait to nurture those dreams.
Make the internal commitment to come from a place of love.
Earlier this week I shared a poem from Tara Mohr. It began like this: “Today, I am more committed than ever to the things I believe in.”
I encourage you to think about what you believe, and what you’ll commit to doing — from today forward.
I do have some thoughts I’d like to share.
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What must you keep top of mind to have meaningful conversations with donors who (you hope!) may contemplate a gift to your organization?
I’ve given you a hint within my question.
One word: meaningful.
And for a conversation to be meaningful, you have to speak in a language that resonates with the other person.
And what is it that resonates more strongly than just about any other emotion?
LOVE.
To get folks to “YES” you need to learn the meaningful language of love and apply it to gift planning.
The word philanthropy literally means, from the Greek, the feeling of love (philos) towards humankind (anthropos).
It’s not just about HOW people give, but WHY.
What is it about your organization’s values, as enacted, that your donor is most passionate about? How can you, as a philanthropy facilitator, make it easy for the donor to meaningfully express their feelings and passions?
Passionate philanthropy is seldom a spur of the moment action.
No one just gets up one morning and decides to give away $10,000, $100,000 or $1 million.
Or let’s just stipulate it’s relatively rare.
Rather, would-be philanthropists consider how making a particular gift at a particular point in time may match their values and help them accomplish their objectives, personal and philanthropic.
Anyone who contemplates a major, or stretch, gift plans ahead.
For purposes of this gift planning article, let’s consider your audience to be prospective major (outright) and legacy (deferred) gift donors.
Radiance is meant-to-be. Radiance means: To have the light within us lit To send out light To reflect back light To bounce light back and forth, in simultaneous service to ourselves and others. What if you were to view your work as allowing your own and others’ meant-to-be radiance to come forth and shine? I’m…
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In Part 1 I laid out why philanthropy inspires, and fundraising tires.
Fundraising must be done, of course, but there’s something about how it’s too often practiced that turns too many people off.
It’s the “fund” part of the word. This makes people think it’s all about money, when really it’s all about valued outcomes.
These valued outcomes are shared by many who care about the cause.
All these folks have a collective stake in the love and mission-focused organization’s survival.
Because all of them are dedicated to making the world, or some small corner of it, a better place.
When fundraising is delegated to the development committee, or the development director, it disenfranchises a huge segment of folks who care about sustaining the cause — both internally and externally.
Similarly, when donors are competed over, donors are disenfranchised. This may take the form of non-cooperation or even outright war between those who should be facilitating philanthropy.
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Philanthropy is a mindset. An embracing culture. A noble value.
Fundraising is a means towards that end. Servant to philanthropy.
Philanthropy, not fundraising.
This has been the tagline for my business and blog since I began Clairification in 2011. It grew naturally out of my experiences working as a frontline development director for 30 years. I’ve always insisted that no single person could possibly receive credit for a donation. “Donors don’t give because of development staff,” I’d tell program staff. “They give because of the great work you do!”
Sustainable fundraising takes a village.
In fact, in my practice I went so far as to develop a point system for major gifts moves management (you can learn about it here) that ascribed many more points for a donor meeting with a program director than one with a development staffer. I wanted to show program staff how much they counted!
Everyone counts.
This is exactly the premise of the groudbreaking report commissioned in 2016 by the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, “Beyond Fundraising: What Does it Mean to Build a Culture of Philanthropy?.” It was one of three reports centering on confronting chronic fundraising challenges, and showcased the paramount importance of building an organization-wide philanthropy culture as a paradigm for the 21st century. When the report came out, here’s what I said:
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Do you want to risk not receiving generous gifts you could have otherwise received, just because you failed to go the extra mile to share relevant, useful and even critical information? Or because you just did the most basic things, failing to do what would have made your communications really stand out?
Your job as a philanthropy facilitator is to do everything in your power to make giving to you as easy, joyful and rewarding as possible.
Everything.
Do you?
Doing everything means
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Actually, with the most awe-inspiring transformational journeys, you feel good before, during, when and after you arrive. Why? Because you’re following something that calls to you. The siren song of the calling stirs you, continually. You, your organization, your supporters… you’re all journeying forward on a quest that takes you each where you’re pulled to…
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Do you want to risk not receiving generous gifts you could have otherwise received, just because you failed to go the extra mile to share relevant, useful and even critical information? Or because you just did the most basic things, failing to do what would have made your communications really stand out?
Your job as a philanthropy facilitator is to do everything in your power to make giving to you as easy, joyful and rewarding as possible.
Everything.
Do you?
Doing everything means
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