No, I'm Not a Beggar: The Dignity of Development

Sadly, it does not take long for a development officer to be in the profession for them to hear something similar to what people have said to me:

?       “I could never do what you do. I simply couldn’t ask other people for money.” In this case, their tone or the context of the conversation often reveals they are implying they could never “stoop so low.”

?       “Going around with your hand out has got to get old at some point, right?”

?       “Do you ever feel guilty raising money for a major university, when you could be raising money for a charity in a 3rd world country that has real needs?” 

?       “Uh oh, put your wallet away! Guard your pockets!” This one usually occurs while someone is sipping on a glass of whiskey and is followed by some chuckles around the table.

?       “Fundraising is the necessary evil for all nonprofits.” 

Development officers regularly face rejection. Demeaning their work in these ways only rubs salt in the wounds. It may lead them to despair and shame. And it can even cause them to start looking for more “meaningful” work. When talented gift officers leave the field, their former organizations suffer by receiving less funding, donors may not be given the opportunity to invest in worthy causes, and needs remain unmet. 

To address this issue, it would do us well to follow the advice of Simon Sinek and to “Start with Why.” Why does your why matter? It inspires you to work with excellence and can inspire others to be generous. Let me explain.

The Dignity of Development

Dignity is “the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed” (Dignity, n.d.). There is a misconception that development is not dignifying because it is viewed as begging. Development is viewed as begging when people reduce an officer's role to merely asking others for money. It could not be further from the truth. A beggar is often viewed as being a failure and inadequate. Development officers are not beggars. They are more like conduits. They connect means to needs, passions to priorities, people to ideas. They coordinate a collision of visions. They conduct a convergence of dreams. Development has dignity because it fosters one of the greatest things on earth – philanthropy. Philanthropy is a combination of two Greek words, philos and anthropos, which together mean “the love of mankind” (DeBoskey, 2012, para. 1). 

But here’s the catch. Development doesn’t just enable good work. It is good work. The best development officers are “donor-centric.” Those who are donor-centric put others before themselves, are curious, ask generative questions, unearth passions, provide a listening ear, engage hearts, build relationships, cast vision, and love others, to name a few. They venture into sacred spaces with grace and gentleness as they discuss sensitive topics like money, giving, and estate plans. They empower people to establish a lasting impact and legacy through their generosity. 

Great development officers do the majority of their work behind the scenes. Far before the generosity of the donor is realized, hours of research, thoughtfulness, creativity, planning, and executing have already taken place. And even then, the job is far from over. Now you have to sit through delayed flights, push through the fatigue that stems from late nights in different time zones, sit in traffic while rushing from one appointment to the next, occasionally bear the brunt of organizational feedback, experience unnerving silence as you wait for a response, and persistently follow up (to name a few). This is not meaningless work. It takes faithfulness, grit, humility, and sacrifice. All for the greater good of the cause. Even before a single dollar is raised, there is dignity in being a development officer. 

Yet, the dollars do come. And it would serve all stakeholders well to understand how those gifts impact both individuals and institutions. 

Development Impacts Individuals

Development makes dreams come true. Cheesy? Perhaps. True? Absolutely. When a donor-centric gift officer enters into a conversation with a prospective donor, they have an opportunity to discover the passions and vision of the donor. What is the donor’s “Why?” What do they love and why do they love it? What kind of lasting impact and legacy do they want to establish – and why? When the “Why” of the donor intersects with the “Why” of the organization raising funds, let’s just say this is where the magic happens. 

If the prospective donor crosses this intersection and makes a gift, the dreams of multiple stakeholders become a reality. The donor’s dream. The recipient’s dream. Potentially, leaders across the organization see their dreams come true. Not to mention those the recipient will go on to impact in the future. And have I mentioned that often these gifts live in perpetuity? In other words, a single gift can often make dreams come true…forever.

Development Impacts Institutions

Robert Greenleaf is the founder of the modern Servant Leadership movement. Greenleaf argued that society has shifted over the last 100 years from being led by individuals to now being led by institutions. Therefore, if you want to have an impact on society, you need to have vision to influence an institution (Greenleaf 2002). A foundation is a type of institution that exists to nurture other institutions (Greenleaf, 1998, p. 170). By providing the necessary funding, foundations play a pertinent role in impacting the world for good. 

In my case, I have the privilege of working for a foundation that exists to advance the mission of a world-renowned university. The gifts to our foundation have an impact on the university, and through the university, they impact the world. The money we raise often directly impacts the university by providing money for scholarships, professorships, facilities, and life-changing research. But it does not stop there. As students come to the university and get educated within their particular field, we see them graduate and go on to affect every other institution: the family, business, government, education, religion, nonprofits, healthcare, military, the arts, and on and on we could go. 

As one’s vision for their cause grows, so too will the amount of money they raise. Jerold Panas in his classic book, “Mega Gifts: Who Gives Them, Who Gets Them,” shares what he learned after he conducted nearly 50 in-depth interviews with individuals who had made gifts of at least $1 million. When sharing what trait he looked for in a fundraiser before making a transformational gift, Malin Burnham stated “When someone calls on me, I can tell if there’s a passion for the organization. I can actually feel it. If the fundraiser isn’t deeply committed, how can they expect me to be”(Panas, 2005, p. 112)? Your passion can be fueled by reflecting on the impact you can have on individuals and institutions. The deeper your belief, the more you will be inspired and inspire others.

So, no - I’m not a beggar. I’m not going around with my hand out simply trying to help an organization make ends meet. And no – I don’t feel guilty or ashamed. On the contrary, I so deeply believe in the role our foundation is playing to impact the world, one generous gift at a time, that I cannot help but give people an opportunity to invest in impacting individuals and institutions. I consider this a loving gesture to help them identify the best way they can create a lasting impact and legacy with their giving and service. Can you imagine what might happen if more development officers understood the dignity of their role and how they are positioned for individual and institutional impact?

References

DeBoskey B. (2012, September 22). What’s love got to do with effective philanthropy? 

Denver Post.  Retrieved from https://www.denverpost.com/

     2012/09/22/whats-love-got-to-do-with-effective-philanthropy/

Dignity. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster.com.

Retrieved July 8, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dignity

Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (1998). The Power of Servant-Leadership: Essays.

San Francisco, Calif: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 

Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power

and greatness. New York: Paulist Press. 

Panas, J. (2005). Mega Gifts: Who Gives Them, Who Gets Them. Emerson & Church,

Publishers.