I remember sitting at my desk 36 years ago, opening reply envelopes from a mailing I sent out weeks prior. I was right out of college, and this was my first job… working as a fundraiser for a small non-profit. I had no idea what I was doing.
But what I did know was how passionate our donors were because of the little notes they would write along with their checks.
“Your organization inspires me every day. I’m so happy that I could contribute…”
“I wish I could do more; you all are making a huge difference…”
I specifically remember seeing checks from old folks who I could tell really labored – because of the squiggly penmanship – to fill out a check with their five-dollar donation. Those really tugged at my heart because in the “for” line, there was always a “thank you” written. I used to think, wait, “Thank you?” “No, no… thank you!” I would say out loud to myself.
At the age of 23, I wasn’t yet able to grasp the “spirituality of fundraising” and what it meant for donors to give. I was in the mode of, “Hey, let’s send out an appeal because we have a lot of stuff to do, and we need the money.”
But, after a few more years working for this organization and starting to know some of our donors, I started to realize that for these donors, while they were helping fund our projects and programs, they also got something out of donating. Joy! And I also realized these donors were giving because they loved the mission.
This is where I realized that there is a spiritual dimension to giving. Not a religious one (although it could be), but I believe something mystical happens when a donor gives away their hard-earned money to help make the world a better place.
I mean, most of us fundraisers know there is definitely a dopamine hit to the brain when people give and it makes them feel good, but I believe there is something more.
Think about this with me a bit.
A donor provides your organization a gift from their own labor. They worked hard to earn that money. Yet, they found it within themselves to want to give some of that to you. That’s incredible, I think. And, honestly, that is a big responsibility for you and your organization to look at the gift as being “holy.” Again, I’m not being religious here, just highlighting the importance of this moment.
But do you treat that gift as holy? In my experience, very few non-profits do. Sometimes we get caught up in the metrics, or the stress of fundraising, and we don’t step back to think about what led a donor to say, “Yes, I believe in your mission, and I want to help.”
What if we thought of our donors as another part of our mission? What if we could recognize the mystical thing that happens when a donor parts with their hard-earned money? How would we respond differently to them and how we treat that gift than we do now?
Your mission isn’t just about the thing you do to help change the world. It’s also about your staff and the community you are in. And it’s about helping your donors find meaning and joy in their giving, helping them spread love in the world.
This is why you should care about your donors.
Jeff