(Part Three of the Sustainable Funding Message from Terry)
I am always so impressed and moved by the caliber of people who come to our workshops. It is such a privilege to work with people who are doing work they love—people who are asking to be coached and trained to do it even better. There's a generosity and an openness that is a great gift to our staff. We get to be with people who are so connected to their purpose, doing their life's work, and living their passions. It's as if we always see people at their best.
I am particularly inspired by the "superstars" among them. These are the people with an impressive track record of fundraising success, major gifts, capital campaigns, and endowments under their belt—people who have been there, done that, yet they still come to our workshops to learn and be coached. Why would they do that?
They've learned over time that one person—no matter how charismatic or hard working, no matter how wealthy or well-connected in a community—cannot bring about systemic change in an organization and sustain it long-term. That kind of culture shift requires an ever-evolving group of people to embrace a new approach, test it, wrestle with it, customize it, and ultimately, make it their own. In that way, they can authentically pass it on to others, who in turn can challenge it and ultimately embrace it.
Just as the culture of scarcity took time to nestle into our psyches, so the new abundance-based approach takes time. That same good feeling we all got when we were little kids putting our pennies in the charity buckets is at the root of all abundance-based giving. The natural urge to contribute to that which matters to us is at the root of the model.
No one single superstar in an organization can grow those deeper roots of abundance in a culture. It takes a team of dedicated people. We have seen many examples of nonprofits that have that one "ideal" board member, the most revered development director, or the wealthiest major benefactor, yet they struggle to broaden that base of support. I wonder what those organizations will look like in ten or twenty years once that superstar has moved on.
If you are one of those superstars in your arena, you no doubt know what I mean. It's easy to have it all work while you're there. But the test is in your legacy. With what will you be leaving this gem of an organization? This new way of thinking—connecting donors to your real work and then following a systematic approach to grow them into major donors—is the "heavy lifting" of the nonprofit and philanthropic world. It's what everyone wants, donors and nonprofits alike. Yet it takes real work, with a group of people who may not always agree with one another. It takes moving beyond "superstar status" to the real reason you got involved in the first place: to fulfill the mission of the organization and to sustain it over time. It's about the kids, the cure, the faith, the earth, and truly—as you know—it's not about you.
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