FUNDRAISING STRATEGY
IT’S TIME TO EMBRACE TOTAL FUNDRAISING
From reclaiming land from the sea to how they play football, Derek Humphries has witnessed how the Dutch create space out of nothing. So now might be the time to use their approach to create ‘total fundraising’.
W
e always stop to reflect when our heroes pass away. Earlier this year, Johan Cruyff died. He was the leader of the Dutch national football team who I fell in love with back in the early 1970s. They played what was called ‘total football’ – with players interchanging their positions to bamboozle their opponents. Cruyff even invented a new move to take him past defenders. Called the ‘Cruyff turn’, it was a way to create space on the pitch where noone had seen space before. Reflecting on his demise, it struck me that DPS_Ad_HK_Small_B_EDIT_Jan16_v2.pdf these days we should be practising ‘total
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fundraising’. Why? Because surely the need for the good work our causes do necessitates that we create space to fundraise where none existed before? And surely such is the demand for good money to support our good works that we need every member of an organisation’s team contributing to fundraising (and not just the fundraising team alone). I saw a lovely example of this in some street fundraising from World Vision. The nonprofit had built a small African village that members of the public could walk 15/12/15 1:35 PM into and explore before being engaged in
a conversation about child sponsorship (see images opposite). This is just one example of creating new space for fundraising, which can sometimes be physical and sometimes be more an issue of mindset. My thinking here was bolstered by research that was conducted by Adrian Sargent from the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy in the UK. This research emphasised three areas that underpin the excellence of outstanding fundraising organisations: team ethos, structure and culture. These three important areas emerge not merely as nice-to-have assets, but as
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fundamental foundations of your nonprofit’s fundraising success. Let’s taker a brief look at all three.
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Team ethos One of the best articulations
of team ethos I ever heard came from an English footballer, Alan Shearer. When asked about how his teammate must have felt about missing a vital penalty, Shearer replied, “When we miss, we all miss. When we score, we all score. We’re a team.” Looking at it another way, someone once said: there’s no limit to what you can achieve, provided you don’t care who gets the credit. Team ethos embraces issues such as: A supportive mindset A willingness to go out of your way to support others. Risk A willingness to take appropriate risk. And, yes, that word ‘appropriate’ is pretty important: this is about a willingness to try new things, occasionally fail and always learn, and is not about being reckless! Shared ethos If people are clear on your values, your vision and what is expected of them, then you are likely to have lower staff turnover. Let’s face it, fundraisers move jobs pretty frequently these days, so you need to inspire loyalty from your team just as you would from donors. External team too Regard your external suppliers as part of your core team. Through all of the furore in UK fundraising over the past couple of years, it has become clear that too many causes outsourced not only their supporter recruitment but also their fundraising ethos. There was a conflict between the high-flown values of the cause and how those values translated into shortterm, price-driven fundraising campaigns. Long-term goals Short-term fundraising targets can be motivating for a team but risk leading to a churn of supporters if these short-term targets are not seen within the context of building long-term value, hence the need to be able to calculate lifetime value and measure indicators such as trust and commitment of supporters.
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Structure Fundraising is far too often
seen as a necessary evil. It needs to be something organisations are proud of, and be represented and championed at the highest level. If your CEO and board don’t understand and support fundraising, then
World Vision built a small African village that members of the public could explore before being engaged in a conversation about child sponsorship.
you have an educational job to do to help them understand risk and reward, and investment and return.
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Culture How do you create a positive
culture? How many times have you heard someone complain about their organisation’s culture, as if someone else needs to fix it? In reality, you are your organisation’s culture. If you change the way that you behave and interact with people, then the culture of your organisation will change. This kind of mindset really matters. Of course, technical skills are important too. But people can learn new skills, whereas it’s much more difficult to ‘learn’ a better attitude! Here are some of the cultural attributes that contribute to fundraising success: Ask for help Mistakes occur when people are
afraid to admit they don’t know something. How often have you sat in a meeting and not been 100% sure of what someone was talking about? Always ask for clarification. Always ask for help if a task feels outside your skill set. Encourage risk Innovation obviously requires risk: not foolhardy risk but risk that has a risk budget and risk expectations attached to it. Organisational learning Have you identified how you learn as an organisation? This is about record keeping, sharing knowledge, identifying good practice, improving on it and being open to new ideas from other sectors. Get close to the cause Fundraising shouldn’t be just a desk job. Take every opportunity to get close to the work you help fund. Inspire yourself and you’ll have a head start when it comes to inspiring others.
Derek Humphries Derek is Creative Director/Strategist at the DTV Group, where he leads work on creative consultancy worldwide. He is a volunteer organiser of the International Fundraising Congress, a trustee of the Galapagos Conservation Trust and a member of the advisory panel at Rogare.
Then drop a line to plain talking, fluent in fundraising DTV. Email info@dtvgroup.asia to speak with Alex, Lauren, Kerri, Derek or Peter. Or find out more at www.dtvgroup.asia
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