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Our recent conversation with Sandi Bliss caught Tammy’s attention. Our discussion reminded Tammy of some of the observations she made earlier in her career while supervising a team of fundraisers. Tammy observed that once her team no longer had something tangible to “sell,” they began to feel like impostors and didn’t quite know how to negotiate more complex and long-term giving opportunities.

Tammy’s team found themselves at the place where transactional fundraising plateaus and where every attempt at selling the same “warm glow” becomes increasingly more difficult. Being stuck here means donor attrition sky rockets, fundraisers quit, and acquisition costs go out the roof. At Responsive, we call this transition point the messy middle lane, the place where a more meaningful gift reflects one’s genuine commitment to and confidence in the mission rather than the naive and impulsive assumption that they’re single-handedly changing the world.

Tammy wanted her team to experience fundraising as meaningful work. And she wanted her team to experience a different kind of conversation with their donors, the sort that only some fundraisers ever learn how to have. These aren’t conversations about “what’s in it for me”; it’s not about selling a tote bag or a tee sponsorship, or putting a name on the side of building. It’s about being a citizen rather than a consumer.

As always, we are grateful to our friends at CueBack for sponsoring the Fundraising Talent Podcast. And, if you’d like to learn more about hosting the Responsive Fundraising Roadshow in your community, email me at jason@responsivefundraising.com  

Reminder, you can download Responsive’s latest edition of Carefully & Critically here.