It might not surprise you that someone said that to me when I asked them what they thought of fundraising. It might surprise you that it was someone who works for a charity.
But, it made perfect sense to her: “the work I do with vulnerable older people should be directly funded by the government. Their care shouldn’t be left to chance, generosity and begging.”
This is a pretty extreme response to fundraising, but all fundraisers are familiar with the difficulties around winning support from non-fundraising colleagues.
I was recently invited on to the Charity Chat podcast to discuss dealing with objections and nurturing strong internal relationships to aid fundraising.
My key advice was:
1. Make it easy for your colleagues: remember that you’re asking a favour – this isn’t their job
2. Solicit your colleagues: consider how working with you might meet their priorities
3. Inspire them about the opportunity
4. Pivot your organisation to integrate fundraising into all job roles
5. Manage expectations – the major donor fail rate is 75%
6. Change the language around ‘budgets’
Listen here to get the full conversation
Ilana Jackman is a Fundraising Coach & Consultant. If you’d like to discuss your fundraising activity contact her www.ilanajackman.com