219 | Should fundraising free itself from the notion of “going directly to the cause”?

219 | Should fundraising free itself from the notion of “going directly to the cause”?

The Fundraising Talent Podcast, a production of Responsive Fundraising

In an op-ed in the Toronto Star just days before Giving Tuesday, Arianna Hunter explained to readers why the holiday season was make or break fundraising for many nonprofits and insisted that no one should be villainizing an organizations overhead costs. She warned that the notion of “going directly to the cause,” a standard claim in far too many appeals, insidiously disregards those who may contribute behind the scenes but are no less critical to the mission than those we see on the front line. These claims leave organizations “understaffed, overworked, underpaid, outdated and probably working under a leaky ceiling.”

Arianna warns that conflating metrics of efficiency with those that demonstrate effectiveness undermines an organization’s ability to carry out its mission. As someone who has participated in the overhead debate for quite some time, I was eager to understand more about what provoked Arianna’s bold opinion and I was grateful that she agreed to be among those kicking off the new year on the podcast. Arianna is evidently among the rising generation who will challenge the status quo, search out new possibilities, and dare to innovate even in the most stubborn of places.

As always, we are grateful to CueBack for sponsoring The Fundraising Talent Podcast.