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And change is hard, whether it’s personal or organizational. You know that already. You might even have a half-finished self-improvement project hanging around to prove it. But did you know that, as a fundraiser, you are an agent of change in your organization? The funds you raise will help to advance mission and create change in the world, and chances are your organization needs to change in order to help facilitate successful fundraising – whether that’s building an appreciation among program staff, or breaking through ‘fear of fundraising’ syndrome from which many of our board members suffer. There is great power and possibility in being a change agent – and in opening your organization up to what it means to value philanthropy, not just the dollars that come in from fundraising. According to management guru John Kotter, 70% of change initiatives fail. Yikes. So how are we going to beat those odds? Well, for one, we need to start acknowledging that a new fundraising strategy is important, but it’s only half the equation. On one hand, improving your fundraising results is about honing your ability to make technical change, whether it’s harnessing the latest trends in digital fundraising or polishing your major gift skills. On the other, it’s about adaptive change, and you won’t find that in a fundraising textbook. (Believe me, I checked). We need to find ways to adapt to new realities: to break from the past and create solutions that don’t even exist yet. This means that we need to be willing to change – as individuals and organizations – and we need to equip ourselves with not just new skills, but also with new behaviours and attitudes. And we have to own it – to #bethechange that we want to see in our organizations. Being willing and open to new learning is something called ‘the growth mindset’. It can be cultivated at any age, but admittedly it’s harder when you’re older and especially when your professional self-worth is measured according to what you know. What if you don’t know anything? G.B. Shaw said: “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds, cannot change anything”. There will be resistance, and that’s okay, because without it, change can’t happen. We just need to understand how to harness resistance to help springboard us to the changes that we want to make. Join me and my presenting partner, Organizational Consultant David Kelleher PhD, at AFP Congress to begin that process of changing your mind that can lead to extraordinary change in your organization. Be The Catalyst: Change Management for Fundraisers is an interactive session focused on understanding different kinds of change so that you can begin to move forward change strategies that will ultimately help you achieve your fundraising goals. Look forward to seeing you there! |
Juniper Locilento, CFRE is driven to advance philanthropy as a means to create change. She has worked alongside social profit change makers for more than a dozen years, both as a fundraising practitioner and as a consultant and coach. She is currently Director of Annual Giving, Operations & Strategy at the YMCA of Greater Toronto.
A passionate teacher and learner, Juniper is a student in the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program at Carleton University. She also holds a B.A. and a Diploma in Operatic Performance from the University of Toronto and a postgraduate certificate in Arts Administration from Humber College. Juniper studied Organizational Development and Change Management at York University’s Schulich Executive Education Centre.
Expectations for fundraising are going up, year over year over year, and yet many of us work in environments that are less-than-optimal for fundraising success.
