Listening to holiday music, seeing happiness on children’s faces, and lots of Santas and I think of how fundraising fits into the season.
It is the time when our hearts are big and we want to participate, belong, and help make others happy. We want to help. Everyone helping and sharing to bring a little more joy in our lives. When we share and see how we make someone happy…even for a moment, something in our heart moves. Sometimes being generous brings a tear to our eyes.
Fundraising is at its best in this holiday season.
Fundraising is at the heart of building community. As fundraisers we invite people to join serving a mission they care about. A person can drop money with the Salvation Army, attend an event or make a gift to an art museum or college or animal rescue. As a fundraiser, I imagine how the donor is feeling as they give a gift to something they care about. I ask myself how I can see the person who makes that generous commitment.
When I was the development director at a hospital, a donor, who had made several gifts called me to share how he felt about giving. “Every time I drive by the hospital, I feel I have a share in making that hospital possible for this community”. I never forgot it. I want every donor to experience giving as personal sharing.
Fundraisers invite donors to be partners in service. Every person connected to the hospital spend their days serving the mission. Board members provide volunteer leadership and donors share in making the mission a success. Every person, no matter their role, is there to serve the mission. Success takes the full team.
When fundraisers include donors as partners they build a community of supporters for their organization.
Donors feel they belong when they have a meaningful giving experience and understand how they help. The result is they renew year after year.
When we go to a restaurant or a movie, money is used for an experience we want. Money is not the reason to go. It is the experience that matters.
Thank you for your encouragement and reading. Your feedback and questions are helpful. As we grow in our commitment and skill to partner with donors building strong giving communities and strengthen the success of serving the mission.
