Mid-April I was tasked with running the 100 for US$100 Africa Giving fundraising campaign. My responsibilities were to get 100 people to give 100 United States Dollars or more to any non-profit listed on our Africa Giving platform. The goal was to raise US$10,000 and end the campaign with a beautiful dinner to celebrate African Philanthropy. A pretty straightforward task right? Let me quickly say, it wasn’t that easy, especially because the fundraising had to begin with me, and I had a lot to learn.
At the start of the 100 for US$100 campaign all staff members were encouraged to donate their US$100 towards the campaign, me included. My initial response was, “I don’t have the capacity to do that”, but having introspected a little deeper it wasn’t about capacity it was about my willingness to give. I knew the campaign was for a good cause, we were helping non-profits do great work, yet here I was struggling to commit. Giving US$100 wasn’t going to break the bank but it sure was going to hurt and set back a few plans. This was the beginning of my first fundraising lesson.
Fundraising is about finding the “why”. The why comes through telling the right story. The right story is a compelling story!
Nontsikelelo Nzula
For a couple of weeks, I mulled over the idea of committing to give. As I was still considering my US$100 gift, the reigns for the campaign were thrust upon me. At this point, I ashamedly committed to giving in obligation, bowing to the leadership mantra “You cannot take people where you have never been”. In context, I could not ask people to give what I had not given. I gave my US$100, but it wasn’t because I was sold to the work being done. I hadn’t found my “why” yet, but I soon did.
Following what I believed to be the rule of thumb for fundraising. I tasked myself with finding the most ‘heartstring-pulling projects’ that I thought people would give to. I followed the cliché tag lines “Feed children in school, pay school fees for orphaned children, give the girl child a voice”, and the list goes on. This was bound to bring in the funds I thought to myself. As part of the process I called the few organisations I was going to spotlight. As I listened to stories about the work they were doing, I found my why. The ‘why’ that made the pain and inconvenience worthwhile. With every story I heard I crossed the bridge from being an obligated giver to a ‘sign me up I want to be part of the work you are doing’ type of giver.
My responsibility was and still is, to tell amazing stories to others. This however does not solve the deficiency of storytelling that plagues most of the organisations I have come across. For the ones I listened to, I now know their stories and I can tell others about them but much work is to be done outside of one-on-one interactions, especially for fundraising purposes.
As I continued with my fundraising journey I quickly learned that highlighting that our platform had 108 organisations across 16 countries was very impressive for a platform that people did not know. People responded with, gasps of wows, google eyes, and nods of fascination but until I told the stories of the different organisations no commitments were made. Lesson one was once again confirmed…
Fundraising is a whole lot harder without a compelling story!
Nontsikelelo Nzula
The fundraising journey wasn’t over yet. My arsenal of compelling stories was now full. I had a sizable number to choose from and I had made my choice of the story that resonated with me, the “why” that made giving worth it. So my quest continues to help others find theirs.
As I told the stories of the different organisations people were pledging to, I noticed the turnaround time between pledging and giving was rather slow. I reasoned out that it was because it was the middle of the month and people were waiting to get paid. The giving was not planned, and for those who were married, they had others to consult. All valid reasons, but there was something else.
That was the start of my second lesson. Look out for it in the next blog.
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