Fall 2022 - How To Be a Good Donor
First of all - yes, this applies to you. 70% of Americans make charitable donations, including many who don’t consider themselves to have disposable income. However much you give, where you put your charitable donations does matter. My first giving plan was for $200 for the year; the person next to me was making a plan for $50,000 a year. That $200 mattered to me, it mattered to the organizations who received it, and I wanted to be as thoughtful and intentional as the donor next to me about where to put it.
These reflections stem from my 20+ years in fundraising. When I was a staff fundraiser, it often felt too risky to ask people to be better donors - now that I am a consultant, I don’t need to fear offending a donor. And, these are the principles that shape my own giving.
1. Give What you Can, and Stretch When you Can.
For those of us that can’t make “major” gifts, it can often feel like our donations don’t matter - trust me, they do! Organizations need a wide donor base with people giving at all levels, and every bit counts. Each person that gives any amount is also a vote of confidence in the work that they do, and feels amazing to the staff, volunteers, and other donors that make that work happen.
Decide how much you are able to give at the start of the year and work that into your budget throughout the year. Becoming a monthly donor is a great way to do that - giving $240 at once is much more of a financial hit than automatically giving $20 a month. And, it’s great for the organizations to have that steady stream of income every month.
Many religious traditions have the concept of “tithing,” giving up to 10% of their take-home income. If that’s out of reach, can you do 5% or even 2%? Whatever you can give, whether it’s a percentage of your income or a total amount, it makes a huge difference to the people and causes that matter to you. Stretch when you can, and be proud of the role you are playing in the work. It takes all of us.
2. Decide your Principles and Priorities for Giving.
What are the communities you feel connected to, and what are the causes you most care about? What work do you believe really makes a difference? There’s no right or wrong answer here; but being clear about this means that you’ll feel better about your giving, and whatever you give will go exactly where you intended.
For me, I think about all of the organizations whose work I support, and I consider which ones are going to have the hardest time raising money from other donors. Which organizations have more radical politics that are more critical of the status quo, or fewer resources to put to fundraising? I prioritize funding for local organizing led by directly impacted communities and work rooted in BIPOC communities. And yes, these priorities sometimes change - when the Dobbs decision came down, I gave to abortion funding. As someone who has had an abortion, the decision felt personal, and I was terrified for all of the pregnant people who would be prevented from controlling their reproductive destiny because of a lack of access to funds.
But that’s just me - others prioritize giving in the global south or in geographic areas of the US with fewer resources. I know folks who prioritize direct electoral work, or culture change, or work led by young people, or coalitions that bring multiple organizations together, or issues that matter to them that they aren’t able to volunteer in. There are as many ways to articulate priorities as there are donors - so decide yours and give accordingly.
3. Give More, to Fewer Organizations.
Fundraising takes overhead and effort - spreading out your gifts means that the total amount spent on fundraising and keeping in contact with you is higher. In general, in order to reduce the total of money that is spent maintaining your support, it is ideal to give larger sums to fewer organizations. That said, I also set aside a small amount of my giving for asks outside of my core priorities - to support the efforts of my loved ones to raise money for their core priorities.
For organizations that do membership fundraising that is connected to power-building, there can be value in smaller donations so that they can count you in their ranks. (By power-building, I am referring to the organizations that need donors not just for the funding they receive, but for the number of people they can count as dues-paying members when they lobby elected officials for policy change.)
4. Just Say No.
If someone contacts you directly (via phone, text, or email) and requests a donation, and you aren’t going to give, please just say no directly! It may seem kinder not to “reject” them. But without a direct no, it makes sense for them to follow up with you and ask again. I often received enthusiastic donations after following up with a donor, so from a fundraising perspective, it always makes sense to continue contacting you if you do not give a clear no. Save that staff person or volunteer their time - a clear no is always better than radio silence. There’s no shame in saying no - “Thank you so much for asking! I’d love to support you, but unfortunately, I’m not in a position to donate right now. I wish you the best.” And if you want to be taken off their list and not be asked again, say that as well - “my giving priorities have changed - I still support your work, but I won’t be able to support it financially.”
5. Do What You Say You’re Going to Do.
If you commit over the phone or email to making a donation, signing up to become a monthly donor, or help them by sharing their work with others, do it without needing to a reminder. I’ve often needed to spend valuable time following up with donors to remind them of their commitments, or received a “yes” that never came through - do it right away if you can, or set up your own reminder if you need to. And if you said yes because you felt bad saying no - see #4 above!
6. Give with No Strings Attached, and Make Multi-Year Commitments Where Possible.
This particularly applies to those who can make larger donations that represent a larger percentage of the budget of the organization - please don’t hold your support over them! It’s fine to express your opinions about their work, but your support shouldn’t be contingent on their following your opinions. Organizations should be able to decide on their work depending on the needs of their communities and their strategic priorities, not the wishes of their donors. Be conscious of the power and access that people with resources have traditionally held in nonprofit spaces to dictate agendas, and celebrate that this is and should be shifting. Try to be gracious if they make a mistake (like listing your name incorrectly) - nonprofit work is hard, and mistakes are going to happen. Don’t punish them if they do.
Multi-year commitments also make a huge difference. From year to year, organizations don’t know what they can count on towards their overall budget - if you can commit a certain amount for each of 3 years, let them know, and follow through.
7. Give Joyfully.
Finally - be proud of the role you play as a donor. In order to win, movements need strong organizations, and to be strong, organizations need funding. You are not doing them a favor - you are taking the wonderful opportunity to make a difference, to do something with other people to fight for the better world we all need and deserve.
