Jim Eskin’s, Fundraising, Friendship, & Fun Mindset explores how adopting a new mindset can transform the way nonprofit leaders approach philanthropy. Discover ten key principles that help organizations build deeper donor connections, overcome fundraising anxiety, inspire generosity, and create a culture where everyone benefits, from the donor to the organization to the people being served.
The reality is that most people are terrified of asking for gifts for a favorite cause, especially face to face. Even worse, this fear extends to professional and volunteer non-profit leaders who will do virtually anything else in the best interest of the non-profit.
This is a crying shame. Simply put: More money means more mission. Non-profits of all different sizes, missions and parts of the country need gifts of time, talent and treasure to touch, improve and save more lives, especially helping those who are struggling.
Empowering professional and volunteer non-profit leaders to overcome the fear of fundraising through more than 250 live or virtual learning community gatherings has spotlighted the stark reality that more than anything else, this is based on fear of the unknown. Far too many non-profit leaders have never experienced a genuine solicitation for themselves. Their experience is primarily limited to the passive act of receiving but not asking for gifts. While receiving gifts completely driven by donors it’s better than no money at all, it’s far different than intentionally soliciting gifts in which non-profit leaders set the agenda for the amount, purpose and timing.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Eskin Fundraising Training calls for flipping the coin and embracing a completely opposite attitude. We label it: “Fundraising, Friendship, Fun.”
Over and over again, we’ve seen this synergy work, and we know that it will work for your organization. Here are 10 fundamental lessons in successfully applying Fundraising, Friendship, Fun to empower your organization to raise more money, make new friends and have everyone involved in the process enjoy themselves.
1. Everyone wins:
When you ask for gifts of time, talent and treasure, you’re not taking anything away from donors. Quite the opposite, you’re helping develop their humanity and feel better about themselves. Being present for thousands of solicitations, amongst the solicitor, donor and beneficiary, by the expressions on their faces and zip in their steps, I am convinced that donors derive the most joy from philanthropy.
2. Friendships over relationships:
We are tired of hearing everybody talking about being in the relationship business. We heard relationships defined as something you have until something better comes along. In philanthropy the goal is something much deeper, longer lasting and mutually rewarding. We nurture friendships that grow deeper and closer over time and are strong enough to overcome momentary setbacks.
3. Material stuff provides limited joy:
What would you do with a windfall of $100 million? Acquiring a dream house, automobile, yacht or other luxurious possessions experience the law of diminishing returns. For sure, you can feel like you’re on Cloud No. 9 for the first week, month, year or so on. But at some point, the joy subsides and you actually get used to what was a dream acquisition. Sharing wealth to improve the lot of others is an uplifting feeling of joy that doesn’t go away.
4. There are several ways to contribute mightily to resource development success without ever asking for a gift yourself.
You can help identify and break the ice with likely donors from personal, professional and communal networks, introduce them to the mission of the non-profit, and exuberantly express gratitude to those who have made gifts. When the time is right, staff or board members comfortable with asking, can step in and make the solicitation.
5. This is a time of historic opportunity:
Philanthropy historically follows the stock market which continues to soar. America boasts more than 25 million millionaires and some 1,000 billionaires. And we are in the midst of a mind numbing $84 trillion wealth transfer from older to younger generations. There are only three places that treasure chests can go to — loved ones, government or charity. Donors can typically make legacy gifts from estates several-fold larger than gifts from income, while potentially postponing any out-of-pocket expenditure. The overwhelming majority of these are charitable bequests, retirement plans and life insurance policies. Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have dramatically emerged as the most dynamic component of American philanthropy. They represent some $326 billion in assets, an amount that’s growing every day.
6. If the solicitor doesn’t enjoy asking, the donor never will:
Remember it’s spelled F-U-N-draisining. Who makes the most natural fundraisers? Your children and grandchildren have no problem at all in asking for money. That little kid’s spirit still resides in you. There is an abundance of research, data, case studies and best practices to guide you on what works and what doesn’t. Like anything else in life, practice and preparation will position you to replace fear and anxiety with comfort and confidence and squarely place you in the right frame of mind.
7. Philanthropy has the power to unite us:
Unfortunately, our nation is alarmingly divided and polarized. It’s reached the point that those with different opinions almost can’t talk to each other. By bringing out Abraham Lincoln’s “better angels of our nature,” non-profits open the door to see the good in each other, helping the melt away philosophical, ideological and political differences.
8. Nurture a culture of celebration:
To hear “yes,” you’re going to have to experience “no.” A negative response can have a lot of nuances implying — not for that project, not for that amount or not at this time. But when magic strikes and gifts happen make it intuitive to not only to salute the donor, but recognize everyone involved in solicitation, cultivation and stewardship processes.
9. The world belongs to believers:
The world is changed by dreamers; the bigger the dream the more profound the possible social change. Our nation’s 250-year record of unparalleled progress is fueled by a can-do attitude.
1O. The time is now:
There might be a ton of reasons not to ask, but there is never a perfect time. We proudly issue this guarantee: The more you ask the better your chances are of receiving gifts.
Fundraising, Friendship, Fun are profoundly interconnected. Each component feeds and strengthens the other. This attitude has proved to be effective over and over again in positioning professional and volunteer non-profit leaders to achieve awesome results in developing the much-needed resources to enable their noble organizations to serve more people in need and serve them more effectively. For sure, fundraising can seem intimidating at first but instead look at magnificent ways that it can bring the best in yourself and the best in others.
Jim Eskin’s Fundraising, Friendship, & Fun Mindset was first posted at MajorGiftsRampUp.com
For more articles like Jim Eskin’s Fundraising, Friendship, & Fun Mindset VISIT HERE
