Let’s jump right to the pressing topic of fundraising evolution, perhaps even revolution, on this first Monday of 2016.

You’ll recall that on New Year’s day Tom and I left you with the promise that we’d be devoting serious attention in 2016 to the types of changes in mindset and methods we believe are essential to truly serve and sustain both donors and nonprofits in the years ahead.

Frankly, there’s no better way to kick off this process of rethinking fundraising than with an consequential piece by Ken Burnett released just this morning and titled “Evolving into the inspiration business.”

Although the events leading up to today’s publication of Ken’s insights arose in part from the ‘sturm and drang’ set in motion by media and public outrage over ‘aggressive’ tactics by some UK charities, these thoughts and recommendations deserve attention far beyond the UK.

So, American, Canadian, European, South American, African and Australasian fundraisers please carefully read, share and begin discussing these ideas with your boards and colleagues.

Here’s the essence of Ken’s message: We must rethink the basic fundamentals of fundraising — how we listen and how we ask.

In a world where the rules are changing — or have already changed — here’s what has to happen if the sector is to successfully attract and keep supporters into the future:

• “The biggest challenge of all will be to develop a new paradigm that replaces intrusive asking with effective engagement and consistent inspiration.

• “Fundraisers’ answer to the need to raise more money has consistently been overly simplistic — the belief that all you have to do is ask more people for more money, more often and more vigorously.

• “For sure the coming year will be no less interesting than the last. But let’s make sure it ends more positively, with a raft of new and appropriate innovations that donors can welcome and applaud. 

• To do this “fundraisers are going to have to be a whole lot less persistent in asking. Which seems to suggest, logically, that we’re going to have to get a whole lot better at inspiring.”

Getting into the inspiration business begins by listening better.

• “Listen to our publics….   Listen to what’s being said round dinner tables, in tearooms and bus queues across the land. Listen too to the new.

• “While listening, maybe we should also learn to turn off the voice in our heads that constantly makes assumptions, judges the speaker and excludes his or her observations in favour of what we will say next.

• “When we do listen properly two things quickly become evident — donors don’t like to be horrid to charities, so often [donors] tell them what they think they want to hear. And donors often give in spite of fundraising methodology as much as because of it.

• “It’s quite possible to trust and like a cause but dislike how it raises  funds.” [Emphasis added.]

Get better at inspiring.

• “The biggest challenge of all will be to develop a new paradigm that replaces intrusive asking with effective engagement and consistent inspiration.

• “It surely isn’t beyond our sector’s legendary creativity to find meaningful ways to welcome and engage donors that don’t depend upon interruption and persistent, repeated asking.

• “We need to put a high premium now on finding alternative ways of getting donors to raise their hands and invite us into their lives. Maybe if we listen hard enough now, we might just hear of a few.

• “Better emotional storytelling is sure to be a sensible step — provided it’s informed by our listening. The five ‘Fs’ — being famous for frequent, fast, fabulous feedback — would be a good mantra to start building into all your fundraising strategies.

• “Better understanding of emotion and how the human brain works would be an investment well worth making. Finding your cause’s WHY and its emotional equation would pay off, big time.”

Of course all this comes as music to The Agitator’s ears and provides a helpful context in which to anchor future posts — and to re-issue some from the recent past. Posts like our four-part series Ask Less, Raise More which you’ll find here, here, here and here.

And the same goes for ‘listening’ and ‘inspiring’ which we’ve also covered in a series of posts on the importance of ‘feedback’ and ‘donor experience’ which you’ll find by entering those key words in the search engine of The Agitator’s archive.

Our thanks to Ken. And to get his year off to a great start we’re sending along the first Agitator Raise of 2016.

Roger

P.S. Please bookmark or print Ken’s “Evolving into the inspiration business.” It’s jam packed with valuable links and references that are not only germane to UK fundraisers but of value to everyone.

You’ll learn more about the new Commission on Donor Experience and how you can participate. Hear a Baptist Minister’s moving tale of how over-solicitation affects his parishioners as told to the BBC: “Sheer volume of appeals poses the danger of crushing the charitable spirit.”

And witness first hand through streaming video a summit of British fundraisers as they review what may well be their last chance at self-regulation.