#191 | Do feasbility studies curate a flawed sensibiity about how fundraising really works?

I could have talked with Clare for another hour about the idea of relying on a more ethnographic approach to assessing an organization’s readiness for a campaign as well as perhaps relinquishing our dependencies on the often presumptuous and very reductionist approach that has become common practice for the last several decades. After spending several years conducting feasibility studies myself, I’ve come to realize just how often they simply can’t deliver on their promises and how they tend to cultivate for the organization a flawed sensibility of how effective fundraising really works. 

As Clare and I discussed, it begins with an ability to fully immerse oneself in a community, ask meaningful and open-ended questions, and pick up on patterns that reveal themselves in each conversation. As Clare suggested, it also means having both a keen sense of where opportunities might be and the curiosity to find them. These are all strengths that an employed fundraiser can be recognized and admired for having.

As always, we are very grateful to our partners at CueBack for sponsoring today’s podcast, and we would encourage you to visit their website to learn more. Also, if you’d like to know more about Responsive’s frameworks training, please reach out today. 

 #unpredictable  #responsivefundraising