Fundraising Is A Conversation

Indepedent publishers and non-profit organizations which do not operate in the commercial sector have started to become increasingly awake to new approaches and methods through which obtain funding support.

Fundraising is a difficult art, especially for those who, by choice, have actually decided not to paddle products and services but rather have chosen to share, give, facilitate and support the success of their fellow men.

For many of those who actually need it the most, asking money is just one of the most difficult tasks to carry out.

But fundraising does not have to have the negative connotations of mass advertising and interruption marketing.

Built on the full understanding that fundraising is all about creating powerful relationships with people who may want to support, boost and honour your cause, the art of getting money from quality donors requires many of the traits and attitudes so well outlined in the Cluetrain Manifesto.

Marketing, in its purest form, is a conversation between someone with something to offer and someone who is interested in the thing that's being offered.

And fundraising is simply a form of marketing in which the conversation is expressed in actions rather than words.

The funder participates in this conversation by providing financial resources, credibility, and, sometimes, social or political connections.

The nonprofit organization seeking funding participates by providing something of value, be it a social service, a solution for a critical community need, or a seat at the policy table.

For non-profit organizations seeking funding opportunities the time has come to realize that without an open conversation, the "givers" will not step forward by themselves. It is by becoming visible (online communication, PR, public awareness campaigns), by extending one's own reach (publishing rich and relevant content, using effective search engine marketing techniques), and by being able to tell a valuable story (writing for the Web), that an independent publisher can seed the foundations of her own future network of donors.

There's a saying among professional fundraisers: "You can have publicity without fundraising, but you can't have fundraising without publicity."

I strongly invite you print out and read this valuable essay written by Carl Richardson for PND the Sustainable Non-Profit, which clearly outlines and explains the key ingredients required by any non-profit organization seeking fundraising success.
From PND The Sustainable Non-Profit
The Ten Immutable Laws of the (Fundraising) Universe
by Carl Richardson