Passionate Fundraising

Several board members recently asked if I would coach them through the fundraising process. I suspect they are hesitant about asking for money and maybe they expect me to reveal behind closed doors all my tricks, magic potions, and mystical allusions. Unfortunately, such mysterious things don’t exist.

Gail Perry, veteran fundraiser and author, says you have to get [board members] super-charged up and deeply committed to their own passion-the change they want your organization to achieve out in the world-the guts of your mission-the ultimate impact of changing or saving people’s lives. As Gail can attest, board members who are passionate about your organization don’t need to know how to raise money. Source

I thought about these board members requests when my pastor referenced the following quote:

If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

Antoine de Saint Exupéry

If you want your board members, staff, and other volunteers to raise generous gifts for your organization, don’t teach them how to ask for money; don’t diagram; don’t attempt the differences between a gift-annuity and a lead trust. Rather, ignite their passion with the impact that your organization is having in the lives of the people being served. Instead of asking your board members to volunteer their address books, ask them to volunteer their time up-close and personal. Instead of insisting that board members ask others for money, insist that they invite others to experience the mission and vision.