There is an elephant in the room that I think is worth talking about. People don’t like fundraisers. There. I said it.
People outside of the charitable sector and those working and volunteering IN the charitable sector both harbour a similar feeling. I’ve experienced it working in the social justice/social service sector and I hear the same thing from my fundraising colleagues working in health care, education, arts, environment, faith groups, or you name the sector.
They won’t tell us. They don’t want to hurt our feelings. That is considerate of them but does our sector a disservice. I think it’s worth discussing. Not talking about it impacts an organization’s ability to have a thriving fundraising program.
Fortunately, I have a friend who didn’t feel the need to be so solicitous. That’s how I became aware of this phenomenon. “You shouldn’t call yourself a fundraiser,” she said.
I was gobsmacked. She almost snarled when she said the word, “fundraiser.” “You know, the people who work at hospitals and universities, they’re fundraisers.” She knew that I work primarily with emerging and medium sized social justice and social service groups in my fundraising practice. “You’re different. You link donors to important community work.”
Well, I thought, that’s what all fundraisers do if they do their job well. They link donors to important work. And while I may not support or agree with all of the causes that Canada’s 86,000 charities are engaged in, I do believe that philanthropy plays an important role in people’s lives and in society. It can engage donors in something bigger than themselves. It allows people and institutions to collectively participate in addressing problems they could not otherwise resolve alone.
To me, that’s noble work.
I work in the world of social change. I fervently believe that smaller groups are well positioned to introduce mind-blowing innovation. However, in a fragmented sector with large, diverse and intractable problems, you sometimes need big machinery to move a mountain-sized problem. So, both large and small institutions are needed to address the myriad issues in our society - and each plays a critical role.
Even after more than two decades of working as a dedicated fundraising professional, I continue to be shocked when I learn that people see fundraisers as somehow disreputable or unworthy of their respect. When I speak with fundraising colleagues, we all appear to be so genuine…heck, even earnest. After recently listening to a panel of seasoned fundraising professionals answer the question, “Why are you a fundraiser?” at a mentoring event, they all repeated a common refrain: we get to help make a difference.
So why are we perceived with such disdain if we mean so well? Check out next week’s article for my thoughts on that.
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.
