The top 10 most harmful statements for fundraising

The readers of my Dutch blog have chosen the top 10 most harmful statements for fundraising that they encounter in their day-to-day work.

The responses I received unanimously showed that fundraisers feel hugely hampered by these statements. Fundraisers are fed up. It’s never great when someone interferes with your expertise. The nice thing about fundraising is that everyone has an opinion about it. Especially the non-fundraisers.

And some themes always come back. The absolute winner is: the (unjustified) desire in new donor acquisition to focus on younger people. But the rest of the top 10 is also a trip down memory lane.

This is the top 10, chosen by Dutch fundraisers:

1. We need to focus on young people, because the average age of our donors is too high.
2. Everyone finds calling annoying, so we better not do it. / Let's stop F2F because nobody likes that. / I always throw away those charity mailings right away, so why do we do that?
3. Those pitiful images are really awful ("So 1980’s"). You just have to tell the positive story.
4. Donors don't want to be attached to anything. Regular donor relationships are in decline.
5. Yes, but our organization is really different. That does not work with us.
6. Online is the future. I do everything online. We have to do everything online.
7. You have to approach companies, they have plenty of money and are eager to contribute.
8. If you invest enough in your brand, the donors will come automatically.
9. If someone makes a (large) gift, then they certainly do not want to be called / thanked about it.
10. We need someone from outside the sector to innovate.

The responses I received were also unanimous about the following: these statements are often attributed to boards, executive directors, management teams and Supervisory Boards. That is a serious problem, because we really need them. If decision makers don't understand what they have to decide on… then things go wrong.

The big question is of course: how do you as a fundraiser deal with these statements?

There is only one way to respond: make yourself heard! Open your mouth. We are fundraisers: we have plenty of evidence to disprove the above, or to get the truth out in a good discussion.

And at the same time I hear you thinking: but those discussions are never happening, or they never listen, they push ahead, or they don't understand, they don't take the time, or they don't care, they do whatever they want, or it's like I'm talking to a brick wall, etc.

To be clear, not everyone, of course, there are good leaders out there, but it is obviously still happening far too often.

My advice remains the same: start the conversation, every time, take them on your journey, educate them, teach them what fundraising is and what their role is in that story. Fundraising is fun and great, but above all a profession. Use everything you have to convince them and get them excited about fundraising. That is also your responsibility as a fundraiser, because you need everyone in the organization. Show test results, do research, map downward trends, etc. If you can't do it yourself, hire someone. Sometimes you need some stamina, sometimes even a few years, but in the end you have to make progress.

Tried everything? Are you really not making any progress and have you really done everything? Maybe this organization does not deserve your knowledge and skills and it is time to look for a new challenge elsewhere. If they don't want to listen…

Finally, for the fundraisers: you are the change yourself. So if you want to get rid of these kinds of opinions and prejudices, try to join a board yourself and help educate the sector.

And finally, for the directors, board members and trustees: a fundraiser on your board works wonders. Time to create a role with a specific fundraising portfolio and specialty?

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Source: Reinier Fundraising