A Spirituality of Fundraising (#10 Thinking in Circles)

Senior Consultant - Design Group Intl. * Co-Founder - The (POP) Fundraising Lab * My Digital Contact Card (Office EST) * My LinkTree  * 14 April 2023 Free Virtual Workshop Registration

Faithful Friends,

I hope all is well with each of you. You are a gift!

Let's get after it, shall we?

Oftentimes, I hear donor engagement as a cyclical (never ending!) process. Maybe you have heard terms like this: Yearly Donor Cycle, Supporter Cultivation Cycle, Donor Loyalty Cycle, Fundraising Cycle, Major Donor Cycle.

This type of imagery perpetuates the feeling that we are “always fundraising” as the cycle starts over once a person gives a gift. We start thinking “I wonder what strategy I should have for their next gift?!”

The age-old “Yearly Donor Cycle” and the methodologies that come along with that type of thinking and practice can feel sneaky, slimy, or manipulating at times. And have you noticed that it starts over once a year!? 

We often forget our own humanity and that of our supporters when we think in circles. 

The constant cycle of starting over doesn’t make room for the ups and downs of how relationships work, the surprises that life doles out to us with regularity, or the reality that a person’s interest may grow or wane with regard to our work.

We have all felt the realities of these cycles as we fundraise. The relief when an event is done, the dread of anticipation of certain aspects of the work, the guilt of not having been as thankful as we would have liked to have been. It happens year after year; in us and around us. The first few years of planning events and mailers were exciting. But now we want more authenticity in our fundraising practice. 

Fundraising becomes a means to an end when we operate this way. What is the end goal? Raising the budget.

What happens when we think like this? What are the outcomes when we only practice fundraising in cycles?

More exhaustion, more loneliness, and more time on LinkedIn looking for a new line of work.

As we fundraise, we notice that our bodies, minds, souls and relationships need rest after seasons when we go hard in fundraising. We need time for reflection, thankfulness, trust building, and celebrating.

What if you’ve been fundraising the wrong way all along? Burn out is likely if you continue down a path that does not center your own humanity, and that of the donor. 

You think you should be doing it one way - so you are. And even if you’re not burned out yet - you will be soon. You will keep feeling like a hamster on a wheel - between events, mailing, cold calls, etc. You will keep feeling exhausted & lonely.

What if we could think differently in fundraising? 

What if we could create a new path forward with less limits? 

What if we could bring more beauty to our mission and to the very lives of people we serve and interact with? 

What if we all started a counter cultural fundraising movement and practice? 

How cool would THAT be?

So, is there room for a metaphor that is more fully formed? Of course!

Lead with Love,

Kevin A. Eastway

PS - This planner (I wrote it for you!) has space for you to reflect upon your fundraising journey, places to plan, to set goals, and re-imagine what fundraising might look like for you in the future. So when you get it in the mail, spill coffee on it, rip out pages, take it everywhere you go, enjoy it!