"I don't have time for philanthropy"

This is something that I hear a lot from non-profit CEOs and I totally get it. I was a CEO myself and I know the feeling of being pulled in every direction. You are the one who has to put out the fires and deal with urgent issues. You likely don't have the team you need and are effectively doing a few roles combined.

But the irony is that philanthropy is the very thing that can help to create more space for you as a leader - so how do we solve this?

I've been thinking a lot about this recently and in my view there are seven reasons that you feel you don't have time for philanthropy and understanding them could help to unblock you to start making progress in it.

Have a read of these and see which ones apply to you. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these in the comments below and whether I'm missing anything:

1. You don't understand how important philanthropy is so you don't prioritise it:

If philanthropy just seems like any other source of funding then you might not make the time for it. But it's fundamentally different in the scale of funding it can deliver, the flexibility of that funding and the efficiency of bringing it in (no lengthy application forms and reporting) . It's worth the time. Reflect on what you've spent your time on in the last month - was everything you did really more important than raising money from philanthropy?

2. You don't know what your next action is:

This is a common one. If you have an hour on a Tuesday morning to 'do philanthropy', what is the action? If you're not clear on this you will just see philanthropy as an amorphous task that you don't feel you can make progress on. But it doesn't need to take lots of time if you focus on the right tasks.

3. It isn't urgent so it gets bumped:

Philanthropy isn't an 'urgent' task in the same way as dealing with a crisis in your programmes or a HR issue or even just responding to e-mails. You can email a donor today or next week and it's much the same. So our best intentions can easily fall by the wayside if we don't block out specific time each week and protect it at all costs (this could just be one or two hours per week of focussed time).

4. You are resistant to it / afraid of it:

This is a subtle one and tricky, but often when we scratch beneath the surface on philanthropy the reason we are procrastinating is that we are actually resistant to making an ask and putting ourselves out there. We are afraid of being judged, of being rejected. I feel this one in a big way so don't beat yourself up - it's totally normal. That's why we need the processes and time blocked to force ourselves to do the uncomfortable things like send an email asking for a meeting.

5. You don't realise that it's your job:

Most other fundraising activities like community fundraising, grants and applications, and corporate funding, can be delegated to a fundraiser and you can leave them to it. After all, your expertise is in the programmes and the mission so surely you don't need to also do the fundraising? But I'm here to tell you that you have a unique responsibility (and opportunity!) to put fuel in the tank. Philanthropy works best when an authentic relationship is built between the CEO and the donor. It is your job.

6. You don't feel like you have the ability:

It's common to feel like philanthropy is beyond you as it seems to happen in these fancy circles that you aren't in and nobody has shown you how to do it. It feels like a 'dark art' and like you don't have the skills to achieve it. But believe me that you already have everything you need as a leader to be successful in philanthropy: an important cause, true passion, a dream for the future and an ability to build genuine, authentic relationships with people. I've seen people go from feeling completely out of their depth with philanthropy to raising money within a matter of weeks. You can do it.

7. You actually don't have time:

We all go through cycles in life and work when things are particularly bad and we just simply don't have the time or energy to take on a new task like this. I understand that as I've been through one of those periods in the last 6 months personally. But be careful that this doesn't become a lasting excuse as to why you aren't focussing on philanthropy. There will never be a time when you feel like you have the time and space to spend on it. In my experience the only way you will create that time and space is by raising money from philanthropy. At some point you just have to get started amidst the madness.

I hope that some of this resonates with you and maybe helps you reframe it for yourself and start taking action. Let this be the year that you start to raise money from philanthropy. You won't look back.

I'd love to hear your thoughts or questions in the comments below - what resonates and what have I missed?

Darren