Let’s be honest, fundraising gets a bad rap. It’s like the misunderstood middle child who really does mean well, they just come off a little off-putting at times.
Fundraising is a major necessity for most nonprofits, yet a lot of staff members—and most board members—look at it as a naughty word or something that appears “yucky,” yet, the word “philanthropy” isn’t always greeted quite so poorly. So where is the disconnect?
Claire Axelrad would argue that a large part of this disconnect between asking for money and doing good is fear. No one wants to be told no or look stupid, but everyone wants to do something worthwhile. The solution to breaking the fear of fundraising is to implement fundraising strategies that aren’t intimidating for the fundraiser, or the donor.
“As a fundraiser, your job is to uncover the people that care about the values your organization enacts in the community… and ask them to do something meaningful with you.”
You have to get your board on board with fundraising one way or another, whether they’re making the actual ask, giving their own money to the organization, or using their strengths to catalyze the fundraising process for everyone involved so your organization can reach new limits.
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