308 | What if fundraising relied on more asset-based thinking?

Early in my career, I learned pretty quickly that a sure-fire sign that you’re dealing with a wizard is that everything is focused on what you’re lacking. Then, after being convinced of what you’re lacking, the wizard is relentless in promising to deliver of solutions that will forever ensure he’s at the center of your thinking. This isn’t a story our team at Responsive buys into; and Mallory, our guest today on The Fundraising Talent Podcast, evidently doesn’t buy it either. Mallory wants more fundraisers to recognize that they already have what it takes to be successful and that focusing on what’s missing only gets in the way of learning this most important truth. Today’s conversation was all about asset-based thinking and the unfortunate tendency in our sector to focus on what’s missing. Walk around the exhibit hall at any fundraising conference and you’ll quickly discover just how many wizards are betting on our deeply entrenched deficit mindset. 

Whatever we feel we may be lacking, Mallory wants to us to be especially aware of the fact that our ability to build genuine and meaningful relationships, arguably the most important ingredient in renewing a donor’s support, is a characteristic that most fundraisers have in sufficient supply even before accepting a job. Mallory wants us to remember that it’s often in those sincere and sometimes emotional moments that we put ourselves out there and yield the most significant and sustainable levels of support. When we show up as our genuine selves, willing to be vulnerable and honest, many of our beliefs and assumptions about how things work no longer matter all that much.

As always, we are especially grateful to our friends at CueBack for sponsoring The Fundraising Talent Podcast. If you’d like to learn more about hosting the Responsive Fundraising roadshow in your local community, email mefor more information. And, if you’d like to download Responsive’s latest edition of Carefully & Critically, just click here.

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