Recently I attended Lynne Twist’s Fundraising from the Heart workshop in San Francisco. Lynne, as I wrote in a previous post, is the co-founder of the Pachamama Alliance, best-selling author of “The Soul of Money,” and by all accounts a champion fundraiser. Her event was richly meaningful and highly recommended for anyone who would like to take their fundraising to a deeper level. Lynn balances the personal touch with big ideas about how to redirect significant resources in order to create a better future for all of us.
Here are five takeaways I’d like to share:
1) There is no such thing as “have nots”
Lynn insisted on banishing the concept of “haves” and “have nots” from our minds. Everyone, no matter his or her financial standing, creed, culture, family, or background, faces personal difficulties. In other words, all of us lack something in our lives.
Take poverty for example. Lynn has learned along her journey that some resource-poor people have related sufferings like hunger, illness due to malnutrition, difficult access to education, work, etc. On the other end of the spectrum we find the resource-rich. While they may enjoy the very things that resource-poor people lack, some of them also experience related sufferings such as poverty of the soul, lack of meaning in life, insatiable hunger for material things, depression, alcoholism, etc. As fundraising professionals, we work at the intersection of these groups and therefore have the opportunity to extend the same compassion to both and the privilege of helping bring them together in partnership to create a better future.
2) Make it personal
Okay, she was preaching to the choir here, but the message couldn’t have been louder or clearer. In fundraising, as in many other aspects of life, it’s all about the people—personal relationships, connecting on a human level, being able to be vulnerable and engage in meaningful relationships. We had many opportunities to practice this at the workshop, right from the beginning. One introduction exercise was to fill in the blank. “If you really knew me, you would know that I ____.”
For me it was, “If you really knew me, you would know that I have always felt like the most fortunate girl alive.” I had never answered that question before, but doing it in front of a stranger got us talking almost immediately way below the surface of more common superficialities. Before people connect with your mission or your stand, they need to connect with you.
3) Keep it authentic
A candid explanation of the issue you are addressing and the solution you are pursuing is vital for a break through with potential donors. Authenticity involves vulnerability and humanity. The more we can integrate these into our communications, the more we are able to effectively connect with our audience, which rings true for micro-documentaries and fundraising alike.
4) Paint a clear picture of the future you envision
This is really the invitation for your audience to partner with you. The clearer you can be about what the world looks like when your work is complete, the clearer it will be to your potential donor why they should invest in your organization. Get specific. Be inspired. Enough said.
5) The Pachamama Alliance luncheon
This is where it all got started, an annual San Francisco event for the Pachamama Alliance, when I first saw Lynne in action. This year the event is on November 15 at the Fort Mason Center. I am hosting a table and would love for you to be my guest. It’s a free event, and although it is a fundraiser, there is no obligation to donate, no minimum or maximum expected. I can assure you of a powerful and poignant afternoon. It will be a great opportunity to learn how to empower indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest to preserve their lands and culture and, using insights gained from that work, to educate and inspire individuals everywhere to bring forth a thriving, just and sustainable world. As an added bonus, you’ll learn what Fundraising from the Heart is all about. RSVP here.