We have a fascination with zombies. Hollywood has capitalized on that fascination for years with programs such as The Walking Dead, in which the dead return mindless and bent on destroying the living. The idea itself is far older, rooted in Haitian folklore, where a person raised from death was said to labor without will at the command of another. Typically, these zombies have no positive purpose and instead work in some way to destroy functional humans. In the same way, there are “zombie myths” in fundraising that pervasively prevent successful campaigns and rely on misguided direction.
The first zombie myth is the belief that publicity raises money. Certainly, awareness of an organization, including its mission, its need for resources, and the impact that it creates in the world, is an important element in raising money. Publicity, however, is an initial step. It is not the complete arc of fundraising that will generate money. Well-managed capital campaigns illustrate this concept perfectly.
In a capital campaign, which typically raises more than the annual budget, much of the fundraising work is done well before the general public is even aware that a campaign is occurring. Successful campaigns begin quietly. For months, and often years, the organization meets privately with the people most familiar with its work and those who have a stake in its success. Those individuals are asked to make significant gifts that typically result in more than half or two-thirds of the overall campaign goal. When those funds have been committed, the campaign goes public and begins generating gifts from the broader community, who may be giving because of the publicity or their connections to previous campaign donors. The public launch celebrates money that relationships have already raised, and it invites the community to be heroes in helping to bring the campaign across the finish line, which ties more peripheral donors to the organization and makes them part of the story.
Nonprofits that reverse this process and follow a “name and announce the campaign, and donors will follow” approach set themselves up for failure. Without a firm foundation of infrastructure, such as board members who give and ask, a cadre of major donors, and clear stewardship, the capital campaign will drag on indefinitely. People want to see evidence of success before they take a chance on an organization. The general public will not lead a campaign that has no leaders and no record of raising funds, no matter how compelling the reason. An endless campaign that has dragged on well past its expiry date signals poor leadership and flawed execution. In other words, the campaign becomes a pep rally for a team that never takes the field.
The second zombie myth is one of the most pervasive and destructive in fundraising today, because it denigrates the essence and legacy of fundraising. It is the idea that fundraising is about money. Money is the result of good fundraising, but it should never be confused with the purpose of fundraising, which is to fulfill a mission by securing the resources necessary to create impact.
Campaigns are about finding donors who prioritize your cause as you do and want to carry out that mission in society. We spend so much time focused on the gift that we lose sight of the donor. The donor is where fundraising begins, where it ends, and where our attention should be. In that light, the focus of the best fundraising is on people and not on the monetary donations that they might give.
Emphasizing the money over the person is an energy that prospective donors can feel, and it does not make them feel good. All successful types of fundraising make people feel special and part of something bigger than themselves. When money becomes the primary focus, it keeps both the giver and the recipient from engaging in the transformation of society and reduces the exchange to a transaction.
Fundraising is never only about money. Believing that it is turns us into zombies, blindly following a directive that destroys our own possibility of success. Making fundraising about money increases the pressure on donors, board members, and solicitors, which often results in fear and resistance to even trying. Understanding that fundraising is all about people, and about helping them find ways to make a difference, removes that fear and reflects more accurately what the purpose of fundraising truly is.
The fears around fundraising are so often rooted in myths that we tell ourselves, and we zone out or become zombie-like in avoiding development and advancement work. In doing so, however, we miss the true benefit of connecting with others to achieve a shared goal that benefits society.
Fullanthropy Perspective
If you struggle to identify what a donor cares about most and how your organization addresses that concern, then learn more about your donor before you make an ask. Conversations and connections demonstrate how close your donor is to your cause and how ready they are to make a gift. To better understand the foundational elements that can increase your chances for a gift, take the Impact Index™ by clicking here.