Faculty Essays

Fundraising is Formation

Written by James Kolakowski on November 18, 2024.

Though I work at a school, I’ve seen the following dynamic play out in nearly all top fundraising operations.  

There are two primary aspects of fundraising, the practical and the cultural. The practical is the one familiar to most. This work involves forming gift pyramids, mailing schedules, and asking for support. Fundraising professionals and fundraising organizations most often shop their wares in this area of practical competency. The majority of fundraising conferences, for example, will focus on best practices of this kind. 

The other aspect of fundraising, and the more challenging one, concerns the area of cultural formation. This involves growing the mission of the organization by way of personal buy-in on the part of the donor. Putting budgetary goals aside for a moment, a fundraiser focusing on cultural formation will try to elicit the highest gift possible from a donor as an indication of their reliance on the organization’s mission. The gift not only serves to help the organization meet its funding requirements but enables the donor to live out his social and moral devotions. How would their life be more or less fulfilling if not for “X”, for example? 

An organization will also sometimes eschew the practical aspects of fundraising in favor of overemphasizing the supposed necessity of their mission in the lives of their donors. This is problematic, and often hubristic, since good gift stewardship is one of the easiest ways to grow mission confidence. Nonetheless, long term mission fulfillment will only be possible when donors experience giving to you as the best possible way of growing themselves.

Both are needed. But top fundraisers will always aim to form the donor alongside the work of practical gift stewardship.

One final note, almsgiving is the work of cultural formation. A gift to one’s church, for example, not only provides for critical upkeep but involves a supernatural aspect as well.

 

Connect with me on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.