BLOG POST
Fundraisers and our Relationship with Money
As a nonprofit leader involved in fundraising, have you ever thought about your relationship with money?
Article from the Growth & Co Blog | Posted on June 9 2022 by Larissa
As a nonprofit leader involved in fundraising, have you ever thought about your relationship with money? It’s surprising how many fundraisers I coach who haven’t reflected on this before. Considering they are responsible for asking others to donate thousands and millions of dollars to a cause, it is undoubtedly a topic that warrants reflection. Money is a topic that many of us are taught not to discuss from a young age, so to serve all you nonprofit leaders out there, I’m going to share some thoughts on my relationship with money to help you consider how yours might impact the way you raise funds.
I come from what I consider to be an average small-town, middle-class Canadian family. My parents had decent-paying jobs with healthcare benefits. We were never hungry but didn’t eat extravagantly. We were always clothed, but I needed to pay for my brand-name jeans if I wanted them. My parents bought my first car, but I needed to pay them back. I was able to participate in extracurriculars like hockey and skiing, but I was aware of the costs involved. There was nothing I needed, some things that I wanted, and I was grateful for what I had, knowing there were others in the world who were struggling with less.
When I entered university, I scraped together enough money through student loans, scholarships, and bursaries from generous donors. I had to work hard to pay off the student debt. These experiences formed my previous belief that a person must work many hours to make a decent living.
Fast forward a few years and a couple of jobs later. I earned average salaries, which felt significant to me. I was able to get credit to purchase a car and house. I always had what I needed but thought I needed to be careful with my money. Like my parents, I believed I had to work hard to make a dollar and was cautious of parting with it.
Then five years ago (this is an entirely different story I will share another day!) I quit my job to create Growth & Co. After five years of navigating entrepreneurship, I have now reached a point where I can see how the business could provide a different lifestyle for my family than the one I had in my childhood and earlier career. I think I will be able to pay for my son’s future schooling. I think I could buy the new car I’ve always wanted without credit. I think I could have peace of mind about money in my retirement. I think I can consider which staff to hire, how to help others grow their careers, and what amazing charities I could take on as clients next.
But something inside me says, “Stop!”. While my revenue projections are realistic, an underlying belief keeps telling me I can’t have an abundance of wealth. That underlying belief keeps popping up to say, “Cling to your money! You’re never going to have enough!”.
This underlying belief is something I am still personally exploring, as are many of my nonprofit leader clients as they engage with donors regularly. We may unconsciously believe that our donors share the same mindset around money that we do. Each time you ask someone to give their money to your cause, you may incorrectly believe that the donors you meet with are clinging to their money. Or, if you have an abundance mindset related to wealth, perhaps you enter meetings assuming they share your belief about financial abundance when perhaps the donor, while wealthy, actually has a scarcity mindset so may have hesitance around donating.
Regardless of our relationship with money, we need to be aware of it and aware that not everyone has the same money mindset. This way, when we approach donors, we know what might be holding either of us back or propelling us forward and how we can meet in the middle.
Looking for other resources on your relationship with money? Check these out!