Donor programs that don’t take you away from mission.
It’s hard to be genuine and authentic en-masse, isn’t it?
I think that’s why we struggle to build strong relationships with our donors, and why so many people come to me asking why donors are so whiny and needy. It’s why we can sometimes feel we’re “fawning over donors.” I also think feeling like you have to thank and “reward” donors is a big part of why donor stewardship generally feels antithetical to doing our mission.
I call my style of fundraising “mission-centered fundraising.” What I teach clients in my Sustain & Thrive program is how to do fundraising that is mission-aligned—fundraising that furthers the mission while raising funds and thanking donors.
Because, if you’re a small nonprofit, you don’t have time to be doing donor work separately from program work. If your nonprofit is a one-person show, you don’t have the ability to manage two completely different tracks.
That’s why I get my clients to think about things differently. We build a “Gratitude Process” that both systematizes and simplifies the “saying thank you” part of donor work, but also builds genuine, authentic connection. Recognizing donors for their financial support of your mission can be part of doing your mission, if you do it right.
I’ll give you a few examples from my clients that have worked well:
One of my clients supports refugees coming from war zones. They support them and provide a home for them during trauma recovery. One way this organization does this is they have a monthly potluck for their shelter residents. They purchase the food necessary to cook a meal from a shelter residents’s homelands, and the resident teaches the others and the staff how to prepare the meal; often sharing their own memories, culture, and identity along the way. With the residents’ permission, the nonprofit sends the recipe to their donors, sometimes with a photo or video of their resident cooking the meal. It’s a way to connect their donors to the work, while supporting their residents’ recovery. They encourage donors to write back and send in photos of themselves cooking the meal to share with residents, so these refugees see that people care about and appreciate them. To me, this is a thing of beauty and profound connection.
Another client provides Hip Hop arts education to kids in NYC public schools, with a side mission of supporting new and emerging Hip Hop artists as their teachers. My client had their teaching artists create songs about what they saw music doing for their students (and they paid these artists to create the songs, and paid for them to record with a professional studio—a professional development opportunity that many deeply appreciated), and they send the songs to donors throughout the year. They serve their teachers, share their names and art, and connect their donors to the people carrying out the mission all at the same time.
One of my clients is a brand new organization, with a very time-strapped Executive Director. But he still takes the time to call everyone who donates…because he wants to get them more invested in the mission. He uses the thank you calls to talk to them about who they know that might be interested in the mission. He tells them what he needs help with, and often gets the help he asks for. He’s gotten quite a lot of buy-in from donors in the process. So while his donor base is small, his donors are now ambassadors and are helping him get the mission done–providing pro-bono services, hosting house parties, and more.
Another of my clients supports young people at risk of dropping out of school by getting them into vocational training programs and apprenticeship programs with employers so that they can get paid while finishing school. They invite their donors to their students’ graduation ceremony. They ask the donors to stay at a respectful distance because this is a day for the young people and their families, but the donors get to bear witness to the joy and celebration…and the donors get to show up for these young people in their community to show that their community (not just their families) celebrates their achievement. It’s something that deeply impacts their donors and their students.
You see, fundraising doesn’t have to be a completely separate track from your program work. In fact, in my experience, the more integrated they are, the better! The most successful fundraising programs I’ve ever run—from a small shop of 1/2 of my time to a larger staff of 5—have always been 100% integrated into the mission of the organization. When you’re a small nonprofit, your fundraising absolutely must move your mission forward…or it’s a distraction for you. But the thing I’ve learned is that integrating donors deeply into getting your mission accomplished is something donors absolutely love as well!
Donors give because they believe in your mission; they don’t want tote bags and fancy, glossy reports. They want to SEE the impact. They want to know the people you serve. So when you incorporate donors into the mission; when you allow them to build relationships with the people you serve; when you create community throughout your whole mission, you can get outstanding fundraising results.
Want to learn more about how to raise more while simplifying and systematizing your fundraising…so that it works for your mission? Schedule a consultation with me. I have options to support you that start at as low as $250/month.
