Fundraising Integrity

When raising money for a non-profit, it's critical to understand why people give. And that means people who raise money for non-profits are more effective when they give money to other non-profits. Seth Godin writes about this and related topics today.

I have raised more than $100 million over my years in the non-profit industry. And I've given tens of thousands of dollars, while making a non-profit salary. It just makes sense. I thought "if I believe that non-profits do much of the world's most important work, why wouldn't I support causes I think are important?"

I was fortunate that I got to do really vital work every day, yet I could only work on that cause. If I couldn't give my time, did that mean I couldn't be part of other vital work? Of course not! It simply meant that I could be part of other causes through my wallet - exactly the way I encouraged donors and potential donors to be part of anti-hunger or workforce development or community-based HIV/AIDS services or community development efforts.

While I got to devote time and energy to these causes, many other things are important to me - the environment, women's right to choose, anti-hunger work and foodbanking throughout the US and world, anti-poverty work and advocacy, medical care and public health projects throughout the world, public elementary education, scholarships to the local Y daycare, my college and women's education, the Girl Scouts, pediatric cancer research and services, multiple sclerosis and diabetes research, gay/lesbian/bi/transgender rights, and political campaigns.

Some of these causes fit into the usual "giving triad" of one's school, a disease that affects a loved one, and a third that often addresses some community issue. Religious people add their church to the mix, while often seeing it as separate from their regular charitable giving. Other causes I support because I fundamentally believe the work is essential and government and business are not dealing it - at least not in the way I think it should be done. I give to other causes because someone asked me.

I learned long ago that the single most important thing to do when raising money is to ASK FOR THE MONEY. I also know how hard it is for people to ask for money for a charitable purpose. So when they ask me, I give. Every fundraiser needs a win once in a while to boost their spirits and help them keep going - I like to play that role.

And that gets me back to my original point: in order to effectively ask for money, it's important to give money, too. I always gave to the organizations that I led, because I believed in our work and because I felt it empowered me to ask others to join me in supporting this work. I knew what it felt like to feel part of something through a financial donation. I could speak convincingly about how rewarding it is to participate in a cause by contributing money.

I generally give to direct mail and e-mail appeals for money. I've written many highly successful fundraising letters, and I believe they are successful because I know what it takes for a letter to get ME to make a donation. I tap into the emotions that good letters elicit from me, to write a compelling appeal that welcomes others to support the vital cause. I tap into my own motivation as well as paying attention to what supporters say when asked why they give. If I'm not making my own financial contributions, how can I relate to donors? How could I be credible when I ask them to give?

If you're raising money, try making a donation to your own cause. See how you feel when you next ask someone else for money. If you raise money through the mail or internet, make a financial contribution to an organization that got you to open the envelope or e-mail. See how that changes your perception of your organization's fundraising appeals. If you hold events, buy a ticket to another organization's event. See what it's like to be a guest and what the experience offers donors. Bid on a silent auction item somewhere else, and see how that influences your own organization's auction effort. I've done all of these things and continue to do so, and it's made me a really effective fundraiser.

Walk in a donor's shoes by becoming a donor, and I believe you'll find yourself a far better fundraiser than you ever were before.