A New Year, A New Approach
A New Year, A New Approach
By Lance Ortiz
Let’s be honest. We usually begin the New Year by feeling bad about what we did not accomplish in the previous year. We tend to dwell on where we fell short and become hyperfocused on the challenges we did not know would be there. This is human nature, and we all do it and tend to lose sight of our goals and what we had hoped to achieve because we find ourselves putting out new fires.
But what if we could start the new year by identifying and tackling the challenges we know will be there? The Write On Fundraising team has the opportunity to work with many nonprofits, and part of what we do is help them overcome their challenges, known and unknown. Our experience has been that almost every nonprofit faces similar mission-focused challenges at the start of a new year, but what if we focused on tackling the known challenges we faced, those that are community-centric?
Once a nonprofit understands its challenges, it can meet them head-on and create momentum-building opportunities to celebrate success and impact in the New Year. While your organization might not be able to tackle all its challenges at once, you can take ownership of one or two of them and set a firm foundation to address the others throughout the year.
I encourage you to take advantage of the new year's fresh start to review your fundraising strategies and potentially innovate a few of the tactics listed below.
1. Use Inclusive Language in Your Fundraising Efforts
The words we use to attract and encourage others to support our cause can shape perceptions, inspire action, and foster connections. As fundraisers, we must use inclusive language to enhance the emotional connection between our efforts and the desires of our audience.
Consider the difference between saying "helping the less fortunate" and "creating opportunities for a brighter future." The latter develops a positive narrative and outlook for those we serve, encouraging empowerment and a positive outcome.
Philanthropy Without Borders has excellent examples we can follow to help us focus our messages on those we serve. As we harness the power of words to redefine impact, we pave the way for a more inclusive and equitable future for all. By using respectful, person-centered language, we celebrate diversity and create a more welcoming and impactful fundraising environment that resonates with a broader audience.
The shift toward inclusive language is not just an organizational communication change but a commitment to fostering a culture of empathy, understanding, and unity.
2. Use Ethical and Impactful Images in Your Messaging
The Write on Fundraising team frequently uses graphics and images submitted by our nonprofit partners to help tell a story, which stirs emotions and spur a call to action. When selecting images, use the following primer: Always be aware of diversity and show people with dignity. Choose pictures that show people authentically, not staged.
Make sure the images help tell your story and are true to your mission. Before publishing the photos, request and receive consent from the program participants. When selecting images, we should be cautious and ask ourselves, “Would I be okay if that is how I or my family members are presented?”
Using images that center humanity in our fundraising efforts is a balancing act. Still, as fundraising professionals, we must analyze everything we use to increase interest, garner support, and pay respect to the individuals we share with our donors.
Jonea Agwa, a contributor writer for The Association of Fundraising Professionals, helps us reflect on the importance of the images we use. Jonea shares several resources with other organizations that address the issue of using images for humanitarian aid through dignity and respect.
We should always consider different perspectives and ask for second, third, and fourth opinions before we launch a piece and share images and people with our donors.
3. Use Strength-Based Messaging to share Your Stories
Unless a non-profit has made a concerted effort toward a more strength-based communication approach, most of its communication will exist on a spectrum from stereotypes to strengths.
According to the Feeding America guidelines provided to its network of food organizations, “Strength-based messaging emphasizes the strengths, opportunities, and power of an individual, group or community.” It represents people positively in a way that feels true and empowering to them.” Feeding America goes on to identify the five characteristics of strength-based messaging we should follow:
Leverage person-first language that focuses on the individual, not their circumstances.
Focus on a person’s contributions and aspirations, not their challenges.
Recognize that we all face obstacles and require support.
Emphasize the collective benefit of addressing the root cause of inequity.
Consider lived experiences and amplify the voice of the community.
As fundraisers, we are taught to emphasize the need and pull on heartstrings to motivate donors and funders, entice volunteers to lend their names, and partner with others for a cause. However, these fundraising methods are becoming less effective with compassion-filled supporters and may unintentionally harm the people and communities our nonprofits serve. An article titled The Growth of Social Justice Funding and the Risk of Movement Capture, by The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy shares that as a movement establishes a formal structure, it can necessarily narrow its focus and inadvertently exclude certain voices and goals. It can be challenging to balance doing good while negatively impacting the community you serve.
As we tackle our challenges to evolve, impact our communities, and maintain a balance, we must evaluate our communication styles by comparing them to the five characteristics shared above before implementing our messaging.
4. Reaffirm Your Focus on Philanthropic Equity
What Is Equity? Equity can seem overwhelming, but the Annie E. Casey Foundation offers a practical definition: “Equity involves understanding and giving people what they need to enjoy whole, healthy lives.” Like equity, equality aims to promote fairness and justice, but it can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same things.
Donors are becoming increasingly aware of the premise behind philanthropic equity and want to contribute to organizations with leaders and staff representing the communities they are trying to support and serve. Remember, the people most impacted by a particular problem should be part of forming the solution. Rather than a nonprofit dictating how it believes a community should spend the funds raised on its behalf, every nonprofit needs to include the population to be served in its planning. After all, they are the experts and know best how to serve their communities.
Equity is undoubtedly complicated and challenging to discuss, but taking small steps still means moving in the right direction. To ensure your nonprofit is aligned with the community you are working to serve, I encourage you to visit with community leaders; even if you did, do it again to ensure your efforts are on the right track. It is time to relearn and understand their challenges, what motivates and keeps them up at night, and what they are most proud of. “What’s their vision for their community?” Because equity entails a collective effort, encourage your staff, peers, and non-profit board members to do the same, and seek to have constituents from the communities you are serving be on your board.
5. Make Sure You Are Ready For the New Year
Community-centric fundraising demands that we remain curious and constantly ask questions for ourselves and others to foster a sense of belonging. I find myself asking how I can show up in a way that supports ALL the communities I work to serve and in a manner that establishes accountability in those moments that call for naming, questioning, and exposing the tried-and-true fundraising methods of the past that might not reflect the communities I serve.
How can I become more intentional in moving with empathy and having that scary, courageous conversation that encourages donors to look at their approach to giving and see themselves in the more extensive work of community-centric fundraising? Chris Talbot-Heindl wrote an excellent article for the Commuity-Centric Movement titled: Three times trying a community-centric approach paid off and shares some first-hand experiences that can help all of us tackle the challenges we know will be there in the new year.
But we must ask, “Am I ready for the new year?”
Remember these five principles as you prepare to start your new fundraising year. If you feel lost, just remember that every non-profit faces these challenges. The first step is to lay out all that you have to gain from shifting toward community-centric fundraising. Change can be scary, even when it is positive.
At Write On Fundraising, we help nonprofits overcome challenges with tailored solutions like inclusive messaging, strength-based storytelling, and innovative fundraising strategies. Let’s work together to build momentum and achieve your mission in the New Year.
Write On Fundraising provides expert grant writing services, capital campaign management, and fundraising training to help nonprofits secure funding, build donor relationships, and drive impact. Email info@writeonfundraising.com or call 888-307-0087 to learn how we can support your success.