#182 | Perhaps fundraising is more about story-listening rather than story-telling?

I’m all about an interdisciplinary approach to fundraising. I believe we have become too dependent on marketing, public relationships, and advertising as if they are the only sources of insight to which we can turn. Perhaps this is why the idea of story-telling has become so appealing to many in our space. Maybe, instead of being great story-tellers like marketing and PR types, we need to be story-listeners - those who do more listening than telling.

My conversation this week with Sam Provenzano spoke to the idea that story-listening really is at the heart of what it means to be good at this work. Sam shared with me that the transferable skills he gained as a news reporter have proven valuable in his work as a fundraising professional. Sam’s experiences engaging with a donor exemplify the type of story-listening that I believe employers should be looking for. 

As Sam and I discussed, he’s in the midst of a job search and eager to find an employer who’s enthusiastic about hiring a talented story-listener. I have included his resume in the comments below. 

The Fundraising Talent Podcast is produced by Responsive Fundraising. As always, we are grateful to OneCause for being our sponsor. 

 #responsivefundraising  #unpredictable