Fundraising is something that most of us hate, every nonprofit needs funds, and most people are very good at.
Why are most people good at it? It is a natural part of life in America. Most of the people we talk to are strangers. However, we spend most of our time talking to our friends. They are people who share a common interest with us.
Everyday we talk to others about our passions. It might be fishing, our jobs, our family, or our favorite charity. We are happy to tell others about the things that matter to us.
What happens after you tell someone about your passion? They respond in a noncommittal way, such as “that’s nice” or they start asking questions. If they ask questions, you know you have found a new friend, someone with a common interest. If not, it is a short conversation.
As you explore the common interest, you determine the potential for the friendship. Does it have the potential to be significant? If it is significant, you start making plans to share information, meet again, and do other things that will strengthen the relationship.
The conversation never turns to money. It is always about the common interest.
What if you did fundraising for your favorite charity the same way? Imagine what would happen. After you discover you both care about the same issue you would naturally mention your involvement with the nonprofit. You would invite them to come and work with you at the next pancake breakfast. Afterwards, you would plan on meeting again in 4 weeks to hear a guest speaker. Then you would invite them to something else in a few weeks. Over the course of six to nine months, they would start suggesting things to do. Eventually, unknown to you, they would contribute. No one would ask them. They would do it because they wanted to. They would also be grateful that you had involved them.
Both you and your favorite nonprofit would have a new friend. Making friends is fun and everyone benefits from it but only if one is sincere about developing a friend. By the way, your new friend will invite others once they become a friend of the nonprofit. Until they start inviting friends, you know you have work to do to cultivate their friendship with the nonprofit.
The other common process, asking for money, usually fails to create friends for the nonprofit. It means that every six months or a year you have to go back and ask the donor to give again. However, the friends of the nonprofit give often because they understand the need and it is important to them. They give to what moves their heart instead of giving because of an ask.
Would you rather have friends or donors? True friends give in good times and bad. Donors give when they feel they can afford to. Will your favorite nonprofit be stronger with many friends or many donors?
Friends are hard to find and take work to develop. Friends are worth it.
