Fundraisers: Stop Trying to Be a 'Convincer' and Be These Four 'C' Words Instead

Guest article by our friend and major giving expert Brian Gawor, consultant at Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates.

As you may know, I’ve been on a whirlwind tour promoting my new book and speaking at some wonderful conferences. With the crazy schedule, I thought it would be a great time to bring in a guest contributor, as I’ve done periodically over the past few years.

This week’s Philanthropy 451 is provided by my brilliant colleague and friend, Brian Gawor – a master at major gifts, higher ed advancement, and, well, fundraising in general. Enjoy!

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I’m honored to be a guest at Philanthropy 451, and today I’m going to share a topic that my friend Lisa Greer and I talk about all the time. We’re both concerned that too many fundraising professionals in our sector think about fundraising in a way that’s wrong for donors, and wrong for our results. I’ll break it down.

Fundraising is changing. For most of our history as fundraisers, we have been “convincers.” We provide our donors and prospects with arguments for giving, both in mass appeal marketing and by persuading them to make big gifts. But donors have changed, and the world has changed. And fundraisers need to follow.

It is time for us to stop convincing, and to start listening and partnering. Based on today's generosity environment, a "convincer" mentality is probably the worst way to think about giving.

The deck is stacked against the persuader (convincer) model. In this new world, your organization name even matters less than it did in the past. Trust in institutions at an all-time low, and for many or most donors, it’s now much less about your logo and much more about showing impact. Today’s successful fundraisers are less like salespeople and more like partners, as we enable donors to meet their mission in connected and collaborative ways.

This is a crucial transition, because the rising generations of Millennial and Gen Z givers focus much more on the mission than the organization’s name. There are already millions of millionaires among our younger donors, owing in part to the ongoing Great Wealth Transfer. These donors have been social in their giving. They've all used GoFundMe, Patreon, crowdfunding and all kinds of social giving and buying methods.

So, if you find yourself spending a lot of your effort on “convincing” donors, you are probably seeing declining results. I predict that soon, you will not be able to “pitch” your way to receiving a gift – even a transformative gift. You are probably already feeling this in your appeal responses, and even in requests for meetings with major donors.

It is time for change. These are the “c” words that you need to be thinking about, and using, as a fundraiser today.

These are the four “c” words we should adopt to engage today’s donors.

It’s time to be less of a “Convincer” and more of these four archetypes for today’s donors if we want to grow generosity and maximize the joy of giving.

• Collaborator: We should come to donors with a partnership mindset. This helps us approach donors in an inclusive way where we are always learning. It is time for more listening. And a collaboration mindset is also crucial to engaging younger donors.

• Consultant: Giving is more strategic today. That is one reason why we’re seeing massive increases in the formation of family foundations and donor advised funds. You need to come to donors understanding these vehicles, and make them easy for donors to use as part of their giving plan.

• Connector: Millennial and Gen Z donors are influenced by social media in their giving at twice the rate of older donors, according to research by Giving USA. And research shows that making giving a social experience can increase response rate by 40% or greater. Your appeals should be networked, supported by social media, and based in community.

• Concierge: You have access to experts, mission influencers and social networks associated with your organization. You have the opportunity to make connections for donors, and provide access and experiences to potential donors that will bring them closer to your mission. Instead of hiding your professors, researchers, caregivers and service providers behind the curtain, connect them directly with donors. You'll find it makes a massive difference.

How do you make this transition? Well, one big way is through data: predictive analytics and AI can help you listen for what donors truly care about, and identify the donors in your pool who are engaged and ready for one of these "c" conversations. It's about way more than wealth ratings. When we've used this strategy, we see on average 60% more major gift prospects than are in current portfolios, and we massively amplify our outreach, resulting in substantial success.

Donors are changing, and fundraising must change with them

Engaging an inclusive, purposeful donor base with strategies that encourage action requires us to transform traditional fundraising systems. A data-driven, impact-first and collaborative focus is key, along with providing a robust social experience for our donors. This is the direction the most innovative fundraisers are going in right now, and I encourage you to think about ways you can join them.

If you are ready to change the way you identify potential donors, and engage their purpose and meaning, I’d love to connect and collaborate with you (see what I did there?). Drop me a line, and I will share some key tactics you can use right away.

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Brian Gawor, CFRE is a 25-year nonprofit professional with the mission of engaging an inclusive, purposeful donor base to causes where they can make transformational impact. Brian serves as a consultant for Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates, a national philanthropic consulting firm focused on the power of authentic human relationships.

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