217 | Who is to blame for your organization’s arms-length fundraising habits?
Perhaps the question we’re all wrestling with in some way or another this week is how to get this new year started off on the right foot. When it comes to our fundraising efforts, my guest today, David Langiulli, insists that being mentally fit for a new year begins with an awareness of the saboteurs that often undermine whatever it is we’re trying to accomplish. Today, David and I talked a lot about the avoider, one of ten saboteurs that hijack the ways we feel, think, and respond to what’s happening to us.
If we are looking for an explanation for the persistence of arms-length fundraising in our sector, the avoider is great place to start. As we would expect, the avoider is what leads us to avoid tension, distance ourselves from others through passive-aggressive rather than direct interaction, and procrastinate in uncomfortable situations. The avoider can easily convince us that our donors don’t want to have conversations, don’t have the time for us, or have other priorities. The avoider is fantastic at curating an environment where arms-length fundraising consumes our entire fundraising effort; inevitably leading to resentment and animosity towards our donors.
