Introspective Practices: Your Money Mindset Matters

If fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving, then fundraising is also learning the joy of receiving.

I first started my nonprofit career raising blood before moving on to raising money. Asking people to donate blood is a lot less emotionally charged than asking people to donate money. As a fundraiser, I felt this. Through working with volunteers and training staff for blood drives and peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, people’s expressed fears and hesitations have been much stronger when asking for money as opposed to asking for blood.

It has been an absolute joy working with volunteers to raise funds for the causes that they are so incredibly passionate about and are committed to helping. It’s also been fascinating to see people’s responses to asking others to donate to things when they are both dedicated to the cause. Even though it is an honor to be asked, so many fundraisers still feel uncomfortable with the most fundamental and basic element of fundraising: asking for the gift. These uncomfortable feelings are what interests me most, this exploration of “Why.” Not the why people give, but why are people afraid to ask—especially fundraisers?

Read the full article featured in the April 2022 edition of Advancing Philanthropy here.