Here’s why I think people don’t like fundraisers:
People don’t really understand what we do
My mom never understood what I did for a living. Colleagues who worked in the same organization as me never really understood what the fundraising team did. As a consultant, I spend a lot of time working with staff and volunteers in organizations to help them understand what is involved in fundraising and how they can contribute meaningfully.
So, why would we expect people who don’t work in the sector to understand what we do if our colleagues and families don’t get it? And when you don’t understand something, sometimes it’s easy to hold it in contempt.
The occasional sensational story of excess or scandal + Bad is Stronger than Good[1]
Like any profession, there are charlatans as well as folks who strive to work with integrity. Sadly, the occasional shenanigans of rogues make for sensational media stories. And according to research (check out my footnote), bad stories make more of an impression on us than good stories. So, the bad stories stick in our minds more than stories about generous donors or fundraisers toiling away, behind the scenes…..Hey, wait a minute! Are there ever stories about fundraisers toiling away behind the scenes??? Nope. It’s part of the deal: a fundraiser’s role is to check your ego, support your volunteers to help raise money and recognize donors for their contribution to making a difference. That’s part of the problem, too. We are kind of invisible.
Fundraising, money and our unexamined values
People think fundraising is about money when it’s really about relationships. Take a profession that is believed to be about money; add to it the variable that many people have an emotionally fraught relationship with money - regardless of whether they have lots or very little of it - and it results in fundraising bumping up against what are oftentimes unconscious beliefs and values related to money.
Most of us don’t spend a lot of time thinking about our relationship to and with money. We may - or may not - think about money and work with money, but not often do we consider where our beliefs and values about money came from and how they impact our relationship with it.
It’s not easy to examine our beliefs and values about money. It can be quite an emotional experience. But it seems to me that it is especially important for those of us who face the consequences of poverty in our work life. When you see poverty and income inequality and all of the associated challenges, it can be easy to believe the world is one of scarcity.
As a fundraiser – whether you have that in your title or whether you’re an Executive Director, CEO or volunteer who is involved in fundraising - it’s really helpful to believe that the world is one of sufficiency. I’m not so optimistic that I believe the world is full of abundance, which is a term I used to hear a lot. I believe in sufficiency - that there is enough for everyone - as opposed to abundance, which to me conjures up images of luxury cars and mansions. Some might say this view is limiting, but I think it’s more pragmatic than “abundance.” And it resonates more for me than “abundance.” That may be a reflection of my own journey with money.
Asking for help makes us feel vulnerable
Asking for help makes us feel vulnerable. And that’s scary. It’s human nature to avoid feeling scared or vulnerable.
I think that asking for money feels like asking for help, to some people. So maybe the person who accused me of being a “fundraiser” was projecting her discomfort with the notion of asking for money and the feelings of vulnerability that evokes.
But here’s how I look at it: You’re asking people to help participate in something bigger than themselves. You’re asking people to participate in helping to address problems that they could not otherwise resolve alone. You’re inviting people to be part of a solution and to be part of a community. And that’s pretty awesome.
The formula
So, here is the formula I have devised to help explain the contempt our profession sometimes elicits:
Lack of understanding of fundraising +
occasional rogue behaviour/bad is stickier than good +
emotionally fraught topic +
feeling vulnerable =
fundraisers are held in disdain
Formulas are supposed to provide a mathematical solution for real world problems (thanks Wikipedia). This doesn't feel like a solution so much as an explanation. I suppose that’s a start.
I know that not every fundraiser is stellar. And some organizations have had challenging experiences with fundraisers. But fundraising is a team sport and we have to be on the same team if we’re going to help effect the change we’re hoping for. I’m proud to be working in the charitable sector as a fundraiser and helping make a difference in the world in a way that I can. I hope you’ll share this article with your colleagues to start a conversation. I hope this will give people pause to think about their views on fundraising, fundraisers and money. Because with great services and programs AND money to implement them, we CAN change the world.
[1] Baumeister, Roy F., Ellen Bratslavsky, Catrin Finkenauer, and Kathleen D. Vohs. "Bad Is Stronger Than Good." Review of General Psychology 5.4 (2001): 323-70. Print.
As the President of Cathy Mann & Associates Inc, Cathy helps clients develop the infrastructure and culture of philanthropy required to build sustainable development programs. In her role as Academic Coordinator and an instructor at Ryerson University’s Fundraising Management Certificate program, Cathy breaks down complex matters into achievable actions. During her 5-year tenure as Executive Director, Frontier College Foundation received the 2007 Award for Excellence in Fundraising for Small Shops from the International Association of Fundraising Professionals. Cathy is an active volunteer and frequent speaker. With the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Toronto Chapter, she held many roles: V.P. of Professional Development, mentor and founder of its Inclusion and Equity Committee. Occasionally, she plays her ukulele in public.
