Responsive Fundraising

11/02/2024

I shared with a group of about fifty fundraisers a couple of weeks ago that I see fundraising on the verge of a big rethink—something that is rather commonplace in professional communities. Our cheap, arms-length tactics have effectively run off millions of everyday donors, and our most vocal critics do little more than criticize and poke fun at our major donors as if they’re Ebenezer Scrooge. Meanwhile, historians are beginning to grapple with underlying issues that most of us pretend aren’t there.

While our tactics aren’t working, critics can’t zoom out, and academics are making sense of our bad habits, we see insiders—like those on the Generosity Commission—missing opportunities, choosing to focus on macro-dynamics, which leaves those of us on the receiving end without any real accountability or clarity on how we might need to change. I’m grateful to our colleagues at The Chronicle of Philanthropy for picking up my thoughts on this one; the feedback has been great, and I suppose I’ll need to be a bit more gracious now that they’ve shown they’re willing to elevate some of my work.

That said, I can’t expect them to republish everything we grapple with over on Substack, and admittedly, not everything has been worked out as clearly as the contrast between Putnam’s and Skocpol’s takes on civic engagement. Next week, we’re going to begin deconstructing the legacy of direct mail and how, long after we’ve given up on stamps, its underlying logic will continue to haunt us. Late twentieth-century direct mail did more than make fundraising big business; it changed the nature of our relationships.

There’s a growing community of us over on Substack; we communicate in longer form, substantiate our ideas and opinions with those of others, and we’re a bit more congenial, less combative and reactive to unsettling ideas. If you’d like to follow along on this rethinking endeavor, we’d be glad to have you! References are in the comments.

10/17/2024

Yeah, we had a bit of fun yesterday at the expense of those who are a wee too invested in cheap, arms-length fundraising practices. I hope I didn’t ruffle too many feathers. Believe it or not, I genuinely understand the predicament—your clients want a quick fix, and sometimes it’s easier to give it to them.

What we’re not owning up to is that when we encourage our clients to use a quick fix, they get trapped in a vicious cycle. It starts with fostering the belief that acquiring more donors will solve their problems. As acquisition continues, they just create more shallow relationships, cultivate low expectations, and eventually realize that despite having increased the size of their mailing list, they’re still stuck with the same inadequate funding.

When working with a new client, we often start with a simple visual like this one. Share it with your client, see if it helps?

Our job is to raise awareness and help break the cycle. We need to help our clients break their addiction to cheap, arms-length fundraising practices and guide them toward meaningful relationships and high expectations—that’s how they create a place where fundraising can thrive.

10/06/2024

As we watch the devastation of Hurricane Helene unfold in the Appalachian Mountains, I’m reminded of where my fundraising career began. This unique region of the country taught me not just about my vocation but also about social change and how it truly happens. If it weren’t for starting my career here, I’d likely feel very differently about today’s fundraising practices.

At twenty-two, still stumbling through college, Erika and I found ourselves working at a children’s home in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It wasn’t what most would consider an ideal place to launch a career. I didn’t even realize fundraising could be a career until my boss pointed it out.

In hindsight, raising money in the Appalachian Mountains was the best training I could have asked for. I didn’t have proximity to wealth, technology, or Big Philanthropy. What I did have was an education in bottom-up, participatory, and human-centered social change.

Read more in today’s Substack post: https://lnkd.in/ew8haCXK

09/30/2024

After years of consulting with senior nonprofit leaders and drawing from my own experiences in this role, I’ve been able to make sense of what it means to be a Fundraising CEO—a unique take on a leader’s role in a nonprofit organization. The Fundraising CEO does more than ask for big checks; they know when to get out of the way and how to create environments where fundraising can thrive.

Because the demand for the Fundraising CEO continues to grow, I’m excited to partner with AFP Cincinnati’s Seasoned Network of Advancement Professionals (SNAP) for this important conversation.

In this week’s webinar, we’ll talk about being clear on your strengths and weaknesses, staying in your lane, and building relationships with the Critical Few. We’ll also explore how to model deliberate practices and align your voice with your organization’s vision.

If you’re interested in being a part of this conversation on Thursday, sign up today!

https://www.afpcincinnati.org/event/241003-snapwebinar/

07/16/2024

When it comes to hiring major gift officers, we want our clients to identify potential for mastery rather than verify years of extraordinary experience. Our approach is always consistent with the argument I made in my book - that the scarcity we have in this field will not be overcome by poaching existing talent from other shops. Some of us have to take the higher road and develop a commitment to identifying and creating new talent. For shops that want to make this commitment, we offer this simple five-point framework for discerning whether someone has the potential to be a fundraising rock star.

The scarcity we have in this field will not be overcome by poaching existing talent from other shops. In the last couple of days, two clients have asked for assistance with their interview process for major gift officers. These requests immediately reminded me of the first seminar I began teaching a...

07/11/2024

At Responsive Fundraising, we want our clients to benefit from what we refer to as a Fundraising CEO. This goes beyond hiring a talented fundraiser with a solid track record. As I learned with my last employer and through experiences with clients, the benefits of a Fundraising CEO start with an organizational commitment to shared leadership. Without this commitment, the senior leader is set up to fail, expected to be a superhero with strengths no individual can possess. The full advantages of a Fundraising CEO can only be realized with a strong leadership team in place.

To benefit from a Fundraising CEO requires an organizational commitment to shared leadership. The senior leader of a nonprofit organization can be many things. For our clients, we want the organization to have the advantages of what we refer to as a

06/17/2024

I remember buying my copy of 'The Most Good You Can Do' by Peter Singer, the moral philosopher and bioethicist behind Effective Altruism before its reputation was hijacked by Sam Bankman-Fried. Since then, I’ve done my best to make sense of Strategic Philanthropy, Trust-based Philanthropy, Venture Philanthropy, Philanthrocapitalism, Empowerment Philanthropy, and a few other less mainstream dogmas.

What troubles me more than the fact that 'Big Philanthropy' can’t quit their search for the 'one best way' is that proponents of each ‘new and improved’ approach spend more time discrediting others' beliefs than practicing what they preach. What if we’ve got the problem all wrong? What if Big Philanthropy's quest for the holy grail isn't an epic journey but an existential crisis? This is the question we begin to explore in this week's installment of The Butterfly Effect. To join our growing Substack community, be sure to subscribe.

You have chosen... wisely. - The Grail Knight For quite some time, I’ve been curious about the handful of things that we haven’t quite gotten right—where we’ve collectively missed something about what we’re doing and what barriers get in our way. As I have outlined the follow-up to my firs...

06/12/2024

My journey in the land of professional fundraising has revealed many things to me. One of the most valuable insights I have gathered is that, for most organizations, remarkable opportunities exist among their current donors if they can discern the right path to reach them. Unfortunately, the path most organizations have chosen won’t get them very far. Having a donor in our database who is capable and inclined to give a million dollars isn't the same as creating the right path for such extraordinary gifts to actually be given.

In this installment of The Butterfly Effect, we explore why so many fundraisers are duped into following a path that eventually leads to diminishing returns, rising costs, and burnout. If you would like to join our growing community on Substack, be sure to subscribe.

Dorothy: Don't be silly, Toto. Scarecrows don't talk. My journey in the land of professional fundraising has revealed many things to me. One of the most valuable insights I have gathered is that, for most organizations, remarkable opportunities exist among their current donors if they can discern th...

05/09/2024

Whether Starbucks ever decides to rekindle its commitment to being “America’s third place,” I believe nonprofit organizations have an opportunity they might be overlooking. To the students in my class, being a place where we gather for conversation, understand each other's differences, and strengthen the community, makes a lot of sense. Notably, it should make the most sense to organizations of the sort that most of our students partner with for their field work. These smaller, grassroots organizations rely on local support; serve as gathering places for their community; and, as such, become their communities' most enduring third places. Being a third place brings those they serve into community with their volunteers, staff, and donors, affording everyone an opportunity to relate to each other and feel more connected to the community of which they’re a part.

Every spring, I teach two sections of a nonprofit management course at the college. Early in the semester, I introduce the concept of “third places” and make the case that this is an opportunity that many nonprofits miss out on when thinking about the role they play in their communities. This sp...

05/02/2024

A lot of us have opinions about supposed big shifts occurring in our sector and having an effect on charitable giving. For some time now, I have made the argument that one of the most consequential shifts is that of the donor behaving more like a citizen rather than a consumer. Where we can see this shift is in the donor’s decision making process - they are moving away from impulsive, less informed decisions to intentional, more informed decisions. The reasoning behind this shift is simple: impulsive decisions usually get the best of us.

Earlier this week, I had conversations with several salespeople about replacing the heat pump in our home. What was notable about my first conversation was how much the process relied on my consumer impulses. The salesperson was candid about their pricing strategy, admitting that their products didn't differ significantly in quality from competitors, but that their prices would be at the top end of the spectrum. Sensing our reluctance to make a hasty decision, the salesperson opted not to provide a quote, revealing a business model that has been built entirely on exploiting impulsive consumer behavior.

A lot of us have opinions about supposed big shifts occurring in our sector and having an effect on charitable giving. For some time now, I have made the argument that one of the most consequential shifts is that of the donor behaving more like a citizen rather than a consumer. Where we can see this...

04/27/2024

What we often overlook about highly relational types of people, like the ones I met in Chicago this week, is that they ensure our organizations have the benefit of a layer of context that’s impossible to achieve any other way. This context, which our arms-length fundraising efforts such as direct mail, Giving Tuesday, and grant writing cannot provide, is critically important during times such these. Trust emerges from context; and, when there isn’t enough context to be found, trust can’t be either. It’s really that simple.

This week, I had the privilege of spending time with a remarkable group of major, planned, and corporate gift fundraisers from the Salvation Army’s Midwestern territory. These individuals strongly believe in the promise of 'Doing the Most Good.' What always strikes me about the Salvation Army is t...

04/16/2024

Next week, I’m privileged to be speaking at a major and planned gift event in the Midwest, where my charge is to open and close the event with two thought-provoking talks. My first talk will focus on navigating fundraising’s 'messy adolescence' and understanding the challenges we’re facing as characteristic of a professional growth spurt. One of the key points I'll make is the increasing awareness of the quick fixes we've resorted to for decades.

Last summer, I addressed this issue in response to a campaign launched by one of the largest direct response agencies in the US. Their CEO insisted that we can all do better and that it’s time to 'quit bad fundraising'. While the campaign appears to have had a short shelf life, it wasn't surprising that he suggested an intervention was necessary; that’s what these companies do best. They intervene on behalf of their clients, providing quick fixes that ignore the underlying problem and leave their client rather oblivious to the kind of dynamic they're becoming increasingly reliant upon.

Scientist and author Donella Meadows was among the first systems thinkers to help us understand these dynamics; what she called 'systems traps.' These traps are archetypes of organizational behavior patterns, with one of the most common being 'shifting the burden to the intervenor.' This archetype illustrates how easily nonprofits can become reliant on an intervenor’s quick fix rather than making sense of and implementing fundamental solutions of their own.

A couple of weeks ago I read a confession in the Nonprofit Times by the CEO of one of the largest fundraising agencies in the United States. Chris Pritcher, CEO of Dallas-based RKD, confessed that fundraising is broken and that he has been a part of the problem. Pritcher insisted that we can do bett...