“Sure I’ll join your board, but don’t ask me to raise money.” The number of times this statement has been uttered is uncountable.
“I can’t beg for money.” “What if they say no?” “I’m just not comfortable approaching my friends.” “I’ll do anything but fund raise.” It’s almost as if the response is automatic. In fact, I think many times it is.
I’m on a mission to change this little part of the nonprofit world. Fund raising can be fun – honest! All it takes is a change of perspective. And the greatest change of all is to realize that it’s not about you!
When you are raising money in the nonprofit world, you aren’t asking people to give you money for your personal use. You are inviting your friends and others to join you in investing in the future for the people your nonprofit serves. There are three key words here:
“Inviting:” Fund raising is not begging. You are involved with a nonprofit because you care about the mission of the organization. Let’s say you are on the board of an agency that provides child care for low income parents who could not work if they didn’t have this quality care for their children. You care about children, so you give your time and your money to this agency. Because you care about the children, you invite your friends and acquaintances to contribute.
“Join.” Everyone wants to be part of a group, especially a group whose members get to do good things. You do good things for children when you give to your agency. Your friends want to feel good too, and you can help make that happen by inviting them to join with you.
“Investing.” When you give money to your agency that cares for children, you are investing in a more positive future for those children. There is no better way to use your money. Your friends and acquaintances will see this too.
So, don’t be afraid to raise money. Be excited because you will feel good, your friends will feel good, and those children will be much better adults because of what you did.
