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The pandemic has been a reminder that our world is not predictable; that most of what happens is beyond our control; and that, if you really want to accomplish your goals, the best you can do is remain self-aware and highly adaptable. For our team at Responsive, it’s been a challenging two years trying to keep a vision alive while managing the expectations of those who wanted to be a part of something new at one of the messiest times in human history. In today’s podcast conversation, I am pleased to introduce Mike Dixon, a long-time friend and now business partner, who genuinely believes in what we aim to achieve for the nonprofit sector and brings a number of strengths that I admittedly don’t have. Despite the myriad of challenges that we have encountered, Michael shares an appreciation for what has been accomplished in the last two years and looks forward to providing leadership to our consulting team in the years ahead.  

In many ways, today’s podcast conversation follows the theme of managing our own expectations and those of others in order create environments where fundraising can thrive.  We talked about whether employers are creating unreasonable expectations for their fundraisers that decrease the likelihood of genuine and authentic relationships. We suggest that a large number of today’s fundraisers are deliberately avoiding meaningful engagement, not out of fear of rejection or lack of experience, but because such interactions are often accompanied by expectations from boards and bosses that are beyond the fundraisers’ control. The oft-cited  “culture of metrics” creates the illusion that one can control more than they actually can and compels fundraisers to rely on strategies that avoid rather than advance meaningful engagement.

As always, we are especially grateful to our friends at CueBack for sponsoring The Fundraising Talent Podcast. If you’d like to learn more about hosting the Responsive Fundraising roadshow in your local community, email me for more information. And, if you’d like to download Responsive’s latest edition of Carefully & Critically, just click here.