Check your Gratitude
"We need to tell our story."
"We need to make our case."
The list of what "we" need to do in philanthropy and engagement is long, but is it really "we" if we're so focused on "me."
No donors are ours. Even the most loyal donors are making a choice to support our organizations to advance something they care about. And we should be exceedingly grateful for that.
Gratitude isn't what you get to after the gift is in. It is the recognition that we can't even think about asking for a gift without recognizing that the prospective donor has given us the opportunity to put it in front of them.
Thinking this way can help shift a mindset from what is in the organization's best interest to what is the shared interest - what can we only do together, by fusing our ideas with donors' investments? What do they care about, how does that align with what we do (or could do) to do good in the world?
Let's check our gratitude before we get to the business of fundraising strategy. It humanizes our work and gets us focused on the constituents who have already given us the ability to think bigger about what our organizations can do because of them.
Facilitator/consultant helping leaders & teams envision, plan and do with impact.
5 个月Grear framing Charlie. As a donor and fundraising volunteer (far from professional!) this is how I feel treated by the organizations I support consistently… and it matters. (PS LGM)
Strategic Operations & Communications Partner | Executive Support Specialist | Development Operations & Project Management | Focused on Human-Centered Connections
5 个月Having an attitude of gratitude in everything we do is important!
Such an important perspective to keep front of mind.
Right, Charlie! Our organizations are only a means to an end for our donors. We succeed by delivering what THEY care about -- and being grateful when they choose us as their instrument of change!