2022 has begun and what a beginning – depending on your perspective. So much has transpired in such a short time and there continues to be significant changes in the nonprofit sector. As so many of us like to do, we are reflecting on trends that appear to be on the horizon and would like to share our perspective.

• There is a new generation of nonprofit leaders emerging – younger, more diverse with a strong enthusiasm for innovation. They will shake things up in the future

• The upcoming generation of leadership is far more collaborative, willing to share power and create strategic alliances

• The future will bring greater expectation for community engagement and for community voices to be heard

• Boards will continue to explore their roles as the call for greater equity and inclusion in the sector increases

• Philanthropy will continue to be strong and those nonprofits who engage with their donors and demonstrate their impact in the community will thrive 

With these trends in mind, we have been planning our education and training programs for the year. We are excited to kick off our series in February during Black History Month with a panel discussion on Diversity and Inclusion – with Emphasis on Inclusion. In March, I will be hosting an interactive session on Conversations with Donors, and in early April, Susan Rosati will be providing a training for both staff and board members on financial reporting and the fiscal responsibilities of the board of directors.

I was speaking my colleague, Mary, a few weeks ago, lamenting the reluctance of board members to reach out and engage with donors. And then Mary nailed it – FOMD! Fear Of Meeting Donors. It is hard to understand why accomplished, well-spoken, very likeable people have this fear. But I am afraid it is true.

People, who usually have no problems making business calls, social calls, or calls to any person they don’t know, need to have a script to call a donor, or an extensive training in how to meet with a donor in person. Simply to say “thank you.” These very same people are usually very open about doing these things when it is first suggested. Then – it happens: FOMD. So, I would like to explore why this happens and how we can help each other overcome FOMD.

FOMD is not about meeting or talking to someone you don’t know. I believe it actually comes from a deep respect for the donor and an uncertainty relative to how to approach someone who has done something so nice as to give to your organization. There is also the fear of not knowing what the answer is to a donor’s question, and that can be a tad bit intimidating.

Here are a few tips for helping board members or any staff or volunteer making those calls:

1. Prepare a simple script. However, don’t load the script with facts. Rather share some nice information, such as, “This is a woman who is in her 70’s and has been giving for 12 years. She has come to a few of our events with other friends. Her giving has increased from $50 to a high of $400 in 2020. You are calling to thank her for giving $350 one week ago.” A board, volunteer, or staff can prepare this.
2. Provide a few facts or story of interest to share with the donor about your organization, such as the programs you have restarted after COVID, how things are going, or a funny anecdote. Your Executive Director, staff, or even your Development Committee could do this.
3. Share why this organization matters to you, when you made your first gift or why you joined the board.
4. If they ask a question you don’t know, simply say, “that’s a great question and I don’t have the answer, but I will find out and get back to you if that is ok?” (what a great way to reconnect with the donor, by the way)
5. Let the caller know you don’t want to keep them long – just long enough to say thank you and how much the donor is appreciated.
6. Enjoy the call. Donors are really nice people and fun to talk to.

I think the bottomline is that people just need encouragement to make that first call. With year-end giving appeals and strategies underway, it is important to overcome FOMD. The most important aspect of fundraising is communicating how much you appreciate a donor’s gift and how that gift is being used. The thank you letter that also serves as the donor’s tax receipt is not enough. A call or a meeting is so much more effective. Of course you can send an e-mail or a text. But think about making that call.

If you are a board member, volunteer, or staff, and are anxious about calling donors – here is one piece of advice: Just Do It. It may just be the most enjoyable few minutes of your week!

What a crazy idea..building the capacity we need, and maybe a little more? YES! That is exactly what I am talking about.

Today, as I am writing this, I’ve had three zoom calls with three clients who are all struggling because they have not built enough capacity. One is a national nonprofit who, for decades, lived with the mindset they could not spend money and had to make do with whatever they have. So they now have an antiquated database that won’t function as they need it to, and multiple staff who all have to take on an assignment, because no one was ever hired to do it and they all took on one aspect of it (hence using 3x the human capital). Another is the development department of an organization raising several million a year. They had just enough staff to get by – until several decided to resign over a period of four months. Now they are scrambling to manage a huge year-end appeal which brings in $1 million plus drastically short-handed. The third is an Executive Director near burn-out, because he never had funds to hire staff, launched a capital campaign short-staffed and is trying to perform the jobs of at least three people. The bottom line here is you can get by – until you can’t!

We need to build capacity for the future our communities want. We need to transform how we function in the nonprofit sector. And this is the time to do so, to imagine what is possible and invest the resources necessary to achieve it. As I was lamenting the calls I had this morning, I ran across this article in Non Profit Quarterly, “Don’t Rebuild, Upbuild! – Reimaging Nonprofit Infrastructure,” by Tiloma Jayasinghe, which I encourage you to take a look at.

To quote from the article: “Upbuilding is what happens when infrastructure is defined expansively, centering humans and communities, and with a strong equity, anti-oppressive lens. Upbuilding requires having the willingness and imagination to question why things are the way they are, whether they serve or oppress, and whether they can be done differently. In short, upbuilding means building something new and different as opposed to recovering and going back to “normal.”

The time has come…