Everyone's a little bit jealous!
I’ve been working with dozens of small charities recently doing online interactive training workshops commissioned by amazing organisations like Big Issue Invest, Justice Together and Unbound Philanthropy, UnLtd and Wrkwll.
The charities I’ve been working with are led by inspiring change-makers who are devoting their careers to making the change they want to see in the world.
The issue however of raising enough money to keep making that change is ever-present, which is where I come in.
When it comes to fundraising, a lot of people struggle with the ‘salesy-ness’, so one question I often ask is “tell me about a cause you are ‘jealous’ of i.e. a cause that all but sells itself.”
The question is about 2 things: one is about admitting that sometimes it feels like your cause is so hard to raise money for that you are keenly aware of those who seem to have it easier. The other mote important point is to focus participants on an ‘ask’ with enormous clarity and coherence that doesn’t feel at all like a ‘sell’, so that they can deconstruct it and formulate one for their charity.
Last week I got a really interesting answer that got me thinking (which is one of the things I love about facilitating sessions).
One brave man who works day-in-day-out to help refugees to restart their lives in the UK shared that “the cause that I am ‘jealous’ of is actually within my own organisation - it’s the team who support unaccompanied young asylum seekers. It’s so easy to raise funds for all of their programmes. People have so much sympathy and empathy for children that quickly fades for adults in the same situation.”
I’ve been thinking about this a lot, so here’s my answer to that man who was willing to admit that fundraising, especially for causes that divide public opinion, can be really hard.
People are so immediately inspired by children’s causes because of:
a) children’s innocence
b) the obvious and tragic waste of life and potential
c) the collective belief in idyllic childhoods
d) the natural sense of responsibility we feel for children
When you think about it, all these factors are also true for adult refugees. They too are the innocent victims of war and climate. They too have potential and a contribution to society that is being wasted. They, like all of us, want and deserve the basics of peace, security and the right to a family life. And, were we in the same powerless situation, we would want people to step up and help us.
In brief, don’t get discouraged by the fact that your beneficiaries aren’t cute! Take the narrative that we use for children and help your would-be supporters to stand in the shoes of those adults by channelling the factors that make raising money for children’s causes a no-brainer.
To cap it all off, you can add the fact that adult refugees, given the chance, can make a net contribution to UK society within a handful of years. Kids, no matter how cute, can’t do that 😉
To do this exercise yourself, think about a cause/s that you feel is a ‘no-brainer’ and ask yourself why their compelling proposition makes such immediate sense to you. What do you like about the way they layout the problem, their solution and their impact? And how can you channel that clarity and focus? And if that’s left you feeling discouraged, you can also read my blog about Cause Envy and see why some charities out there are a bit ‘jealous’ of your fundraising ingredients!
And if you want to talk about your proposition directly, message me and we can have a chat.