Creating Impactful Fundraising Campaigns In The Arts

Before it was about getting donors to write checks. Now it’s about involving them in your ecosystem. Here’s 5 steps to get started today: You’re not just fundraising anymore. You’re onboarding stakeholders. If you want repeatable, compounding revenue from donors, partners, and decision-makers, you need to stop treating them like check-writers… …and start treating them like collaborators in a living system. Here’s how. 1. Diagnose your “center of gravity” Most orgs center fundraising around the mission. But the real gravitational pull for donors is their identity. → Ask yourself: What is the identity we help our funders step into? Examples: Systems Disruptor. Local Hero. Climate Investor. Opportunity Builder. Build messaging, experiences, and invites around that identity, not just impact stats. 2. Turn every program into a flywheel for new capital Stop separating “program delivery” from “fundraising.” Your programs are your best sales engine → Examples: • Invite donors to shadow frontline staff for one hour • Allow funders to sponsor a real-time decision and see the outcome • Let supporters “unlock” bonus services for beneficiaries through engagement, not just cash People fund what they help shape. 3. Use feedback as a funding mechanism Most orgs treat surveys as box-checking. But used right, feedback is fundraising foreplay. → Ask donors and partners to co-define what “success” looks like before you report back. Then build dashboards, stories, and events around their metrics. You didn’t just show impact. You made them part of the operating model. 4. Make your “thank you” do heavy lifting Thanking donors isn’t the end of a transaction. It’s the first trust test for future collaboration. → Instead of a generic “thank you,” send: • A 1-minute voice memo with a specific insight you gained from their gift • A sneak peek at a challenge you’re tackling and ask for their perspective • A micro-invite: “Can I get your eyes on something next week?” You’re not closing a loop. You’re opening a door. 5. Build a “Donor OS” (Operating System) Every funder should have a journey, not just a transaction history. → Track things like: • What insight made them first say “I’m in”? • Who do they influence (and who influences them)? • What kind of risk are they comfortable taking? • What internal narrative did your mission fulfill for them? Then tailor comms, invitations, and roles accordingly. Not everyone needs another newsletter but someone does want a seat at the strategy table. With purpose and impact, Mario

The First Commandment of Advancement: Show Don’t Tell A donor once shared with me why he had given so generously to an oceanographic institute on the far coast rather than to an equally renown one in his own backyard. The leader of the closer one, he said, told him, “If enlightened philanthropists like you don’t step forward to make up for cutbacks in our federal funding, our oceans will become increasingly imperiled”. In contrast, a group of scientists from the farther one invited him to join them for a dive to assess the health of several coral reefs. They swam from a healthy area to depleted area and then to a vast expanse of dead reef. The scope of the environmental degradation was profoundly sobering. “When I got back up to the surface,” the donor said, “I knew what I had to do.” The institute farthest from him had won his support by adhering to basic law of communication, “show don’t tell.” This law applies to every area and aspect of advancement. Fundraising is so much more effective when we let donors see for themselves, whether it is a social ill that we are trying to lessen or a cultural enrichment we are trying to create. When we do this well, we can in many instances obviate the need to solicit. The donor will ask, “What can I do to help.” The most effective ways of attracting and engaging new donors and raising the sights of existing ones is not to entertain them or bombard them with propaganda but to draw them into the inner workings of our organizations and allow them to interact with our most impressive mission advancers. A hospital in the Canadian Maritimes tried the usual ways – galas and golf tournaments - which generated spotty turnout while consuming massive amounts of staff time. However, when they began offering onsite lectures and interactions with top docs, they were overwhelmed by the response. The most popular of all turned out to be a talk on “gut flora” from a gastroenterologist. A donor I recently interviewed said, “the only thing that nonprofits should be auctioning are experiences.” Indeed, especially experiences that show donors who your organization serves and why it does what it does. Enterprising stewardship officers find ways to show donors how to see the impact of their giving, whether it is through tours of facilities they funded, by hearing results produced by people they empowered, or with meeting with beneficiaries of programs they have underwritten. Talented advancement writers don’t rely on amped-up promotional prose, they “show” using fact and example to demonstrate current impact and to project greater potential. The most effective proposals don’t urge donors to give; they provide donors with the information they need to draw their own conclusions. Show does not mean put on a show or show off. It means to “allow or cause something to be visible.” What we want to be more visible is mission at work. Show don’t tell. Provide experiences that money can’t buy. That’s advancement at its best.

Stop asking donors to fund your budget. Start inviting them to change the world. The difference between a $5,000 gift and a $50,000+ investment isn’t the donor’s capacity. It’s your offer. Here’s what neuroscience tells us about high-impact fundraising offers: When donors encounter truly compelling opportunities, their brains activate the same regions involved in processing personal identity and autobiographical memories. Translation? They’re not just considering a transaction—they’re envisioning how this gift fits into their life story. The organizations raising 6-and-7-figure gifts understand 3 things average nonprofits don’t: ✅ Emotional connection comes first Stop leading with statistics. Start with stories that help donors see themselves as heroes in your mission. ✅ Partnership beats charity every time Don’t ask people to fund your programs. Invite them to co-create solutions to problems they care about solving. ✅ Authenticity is non-negotiable You can’t manufacture passion through clever marketing. Your offer must emerge from genuine belief in your cause. When you craft offers that connect to donors’ deepest values and help them express their identity through giving, everything changes. Your donors stop seeing you as one charity among many. They start seeing you as THE vehicle for creating the change they want to see in the world. What story are you telling donors about the impact they can create?

The power of fundraising doesn’t come from frantic activity. It comes from alignment. People keep asking me for some step-by-step guidance here and I've never done one of these styles of posts before....but here it goes: If I were the Chief Development Officer of a nonprofit and needed to significantly increase funding by the end of the calendar year, here’s exactly what I’d do 👇 Step 1: Identify Your Power Partners Not just a big list of names in a database. Instead, identify the 20-30 donors who genuinely align with your mission, values, and current strategic goals. (If you can't name them offhand, this is your starting point.) Step 2: Identify what is truly valuable to each type of funder and how it aligns with their motivations and interests. Step 3: Map Your Assets Understand all of the unique assets your organization brings to the table. Whether it's your social media reach, your storytelling, volunteer opportunities, or deep community engagement. Step 4: Block Time for Real Connection not endless emails or automated stewardship. Focus on authentic, one-on-one conversations. Schedule meetings with clear intentions, rooted in curiosity and mutual benefit. Prioritize these conversations like your fundraising depends on them. Because it does. Step 5: Track Alignment, Not Just Dollars: Fundraising cannot be transactional; it's relational. Track where your donors are in their alignment journey with your mission. Are they excited? Curious? Or drifting away? If you're only tracking dollars raised, you're missing the real indicators of your fundraising health. Step 6: Prioritize Aligned Opportunities: That massive donor who hasn’t responded to outreach in months? They’re not your priority right now. But the donor who just opened up about a personal connection to your cause? Lean into that alignment and nurture it. Always prioritize mutual benefit, strategic alignment, and shared impact. Step 7: Equip Your Team for Alignment Fundraising: If your fundraisers spend hours toggling between unclear tasks, they’re not effectively engaging donors. Provide clear systems and tools that support aligned fundraising, foster authentic relationships, and track meaningful engagement. If you consistently operate from a place of alignment and authenticity, you'll not only see fundraising results but you'll also decrease stress, burnout, and overwhelm. Fundraising is about people. And when you put aligned relationships at the core of your strategy, everything else falls into place. What do you think? What steps did I miss? What else would you add?