The challenge all fundraisers face with donors is this: Donors aren’t us.
They have different taste, knowledge, and expectations than the fundraisers. They don’t think or talk like us. They are moved to action by things we dislike or don’t understand.
The difficulties and frustration of dealing with these difference sometimes metastasize into to full-blown hatred or disdain for donors. A sense that while donors owe us their donations, they demand too much for those donations. A feeling that donors hold us back, that maybe donors are part of the problem we exist to solve.
In a sense, this is a self-correcting syndrome. If you dislike donors, you will eventually not have any of them.
Mature, well-rounded fundraiser embrace their differences with donors and learn to serve them. That’s when fundraising really can take off.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com.
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