When That Fundraising Fear Gets Loud
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about fear and how it blocks our success in fundraising.
Perhaps your experience is a little like mine was, when I was a new Development Director.
Perhaps you *want* to reach out to donors, you *need* to reach out to donors, but because of the fear coursing through you, you just can’t seem to get over the hump.
So instead of calling or emailing folks — forging real human connections — you find yourself hiding behind your desk, immersed in administrative tasks again!
Yikes. I know this is so painful!
The good news is that you’re not alone and there’s nothing wrong with you.
Your nervous system is reacting to the fact that money is taboo in our culture.
That the stakes are high for your organization financially.
That in making donor outreach, you’re opening yourself to judgment or rejection.
Woof. It’s a lot, and I’m only scratching the surface of what’s at play.
If you’re experiencing fundraising fear and you’re looking for some solutions, you’re in luck! I’ve just unpacked all this with fellow fundraiser Maria Rio on an episode of the Small Nonprofit Podcast.
What I shared with Maria is this — that when you boil it down, the key to breaking through this fear is inner work. And you don’t have to go to a therapist or dedicate hours of time each week to do it.
You can do it in little snippets – three minutes of movement here, ten minutes of journaling there, or perhaps even joining my Find Your Flow community once a month.
What I know is this: when we do the inner work of calming our nervous systems, reflecting on our leadership, and connecting with our humanity, we can finally show up as the leaders we want to be.
From this new, more grounded space, we write the email. We make the call. We allow ourselves to show donors who we really are, and they in turn find permission to show who they really are.
From here – a place of genuine connection – generosity begins to build and flow. It’s a place of pride and relief and ease and joy and momentum. And it’s attainable.
Sometimes the wins are immediate – surprisingly so! And sometimes, there’s a longer, more organic trajectory to growth. Either way, the growth and the wins do appear.
Tune in to the episode for stories and strategies that you can put to work right away.
