It’s Not About Fundraising

All leaders have been there before: we’ve just heard a great idea; our team is on board; everybody’s excited…now, the question presents itself: how are we going to come up with the funding to make it happen?

While fundraising may be some people’s favorite part of a project, for most of us, it fills us with some level of dread. Finding resources, donors, and money is difficult to begin with. Add to the equation that everyone else in business and ministry is asking for resources, and raising funds seems daunting, to say the least.

However, if we shift our perspective, we’ll discover that coming up with resources may be one of the most rewarding aspects of our business. Why?

Because it’s ultimately not about fundraising. Think about it: the people who will provide you the resources aren’t those who barely know you. They’re the people you’ve built relationships with—those who know they can trust you. So the process of accumulating what you need isn’t so much as a matter of fundraising as it is a matter of friendraising.

When you shift your perspective towards building relationships, you’ll supercharge the momentum of your organization. After all, what people truly want to feel as clients, members, and customers is that they have a personal relationship with your company.

It’s not about resources, per se. It’s more about resourcefulness. It’s not about the money so much as it is about the strategies you employ to give donors a reason to contribute.

So how are you and your team friendraising?