Time to stop fundraising?

I know, I sound like a turkey voting for Christmas, but it occurs to me that maybe, just maybe, traditional fundraising has had its day.

?

With such exponential growth in the number of great charitable causes, a cost-of-living crisis and general donor fatigue perhaps it is time for a different approach. Perhaps it is not enough to keep simply asking – perhaps it is time to bring people closer to our beliefs and into the hearts of our charities so that our charities can be in the hearts of more people.

?

Of course, the fear is that in year income will drop, targets won’t be met, and boards will be unhappy. The biggest fear may be that we won’t be able to provide services or results for our beneficiaries because, after all, they’re the ones that matter most.

?

I have been in many meetings over the last year with many charities and I hear the same story time and again – teams not wanting to ‘pass supporters over’ as they have high targets to meet, teams not willing to compromise on data and airtime, and teams still working in silos rather than all working together for the greater good. These attitudes are slowing progress, putting supporters into boxes not of their own choosing, and making assumptions that are costly.

?

I understand we may need targets to hold people accountable but, if we employ the right people, and have faith in them, this argument starts to lose traction. I understand we need to know the ROI of different channels and be able to measure how successful a campaign is – or do we? Do we even really know the impact of a TV advert, or a bookmark? Do we ever really understand the power of word of mouth? Isn’t a better measure the long-term relationships we grow? The bottom line is still important but how much do targets and metrics impact that?

?

But what’s the answer to all this? We can’t just stop – we can’t re-invent the wheel that has been turning very well for decades. Or can we? I think we can. I believe we can use a different lens and look at our targets differently – and look at people differently.? We live in an age of information, and of competition. Internally we need to share information and ditch competition – we don’t need to fight against our own teams, we need to work together better. I personally sometimes find myself using this language, saying ‘legacy supporters’, and I have, I admit, caught myself in the act of being reluctant to ‘hand supporters over’ for another team’s campaign or for, God forbid, a canvasser from another team to talk to. I’m getting much more aware of these instances and this awareness is having a positive impact on relationships and supporter experience.

?

I’ve realised that, as a charity, it shouldn’t matter which income stream puts money into the pot, we should not be indulging in internal cost swapping because a supporter of team A came to an event run by team B. We need to be more united if we are to succeed.

?

This must come from the top, but we can all do our bit wherever we sit in the organisation by being more pragmatic, generous and by compromising if that is in the best interests of the charity and the people who benefit from its existence.

?

Need to keep the money coming in? That’s the easy bit – move away from fundraising in job titles and team names and move towards engagement and relationship management. We need to embrace our supporters and make them feel part of the charity – we must help them understand that we want them as well as need them. Supporters aren’t silly, they’re not uneducated and they have a choice. We know people are more likely to give to family and loved ones, so, by making your charity their family you’re improving your chances of support. Try contacting a supporter without asking for money – update them on your progress, tell them how their support is helping, or just thank them.

?

While ever people feel that we always come to them cap in hand, they’ll not be as invested as they could be.

?

Some charities have already been brave enough to take steps in this direction and I’m pleased and privileged to work for one of them. This realisation has taken me 33 years to put into words and I now think the time is right for us all to take the leap. If we get the relationship right – the money will follow.