by Jessica Haynie Mindful Innovator of Three Stones ......mindful FUNDRAISING We have come to a point where many organizations are no longer able to sustain themselves through fundraising

A new and holistic approach to fundraising for nonprofits and social enterprises

by Jessica HaynieMindful Innovator of

Three Stones Consulting, LLC

Three Stones Consulting © 2013

copyrighted in 2013 is the sole property of Three Stones Consulting, LLC. No part of this paper may be reproduced without written permission from Three Stones Consulting, LLC. Cover photograph by Jessica Haynie.

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http://www.threestonesconsulting.com

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Three Stones Consulting, LLC 1

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Foreword ........................................................................................................2

Executive Summary ......................................................................................... 3

Introduction ....................................................................................................5

The Mindful Fundraising™ Approach ................................................................... 8

Applying a Holistic Approach....................................................................... 8

Building the Foundation for Fundraising ..................................................... 14

Integrating Mindfulness ........................................................................... 16

Applying the Mindful Fundraising™ Approach ..................................................... 18

Conclusion .................................................................................................... 21

Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ 22

About Three Stones Consulting LLC .................................................................. 23

About Jessica Haynie ..................................................................................... 23

Notes ........................................................................................................... 24

Mindfulness Resources ................................................................................... 24

Table of Contents


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Three Stones Consulting, LLC has had the opportunity to work with and support many dynamic, effective nonprofits and social enterprises. It is a privilege to be of service to these organizations as they strive to heal, strengthen and improve their communities, our country and the world. Yet at times, shortfalls in funding can make it nearly impossible for these groups to fulfill their missions—or even to keep their doors open.

The information in this document is derived from the knowledge and experience I have gained while working directly with nonprofit organizations and social enterprises. It also incorporates feedback and stories shared with me by colleagues and fellow consultants and informed by their years of experience. It is aimed at helping board members, executive directors, development directors and fundraising staff achieve their goals.

In this introduction to Mindful Fundraising™, I will endeavor to clarify problems, identify solutions, and propose steps for implementing those solutions. However, it is my hope that the conversation I am starting here will spread beyond these pages. Indeed, if the nonprofit sector as a whole is to weather the multiplying challenges that now threaten the viability of so many organizations, then it is a conversation that must take place—preferably sooner rather than later. Finally, if you are reading this, then this is also your conversation, so I would love to hear from you.

Jessica HaynieFounder & Mindful Innovator of Three Stones Consulting, LLC

Foreword


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We have come to a point where many organizations are no longer able to sustain themselves through fundraising. Times are changing and nonprofits need to keep pace. The economic downturn of 2008 increased the need for nonprofit services, which in turn increased the level of competition among nonprofits for funds. Nonprofits failing to meet the demand for their services usually blame inadequate budgets, which are in turn blamed on external factors such as competition and the economic climate, but there are many other reasons why nonprofit groups fall short of fulfilling their missions. Nonprofits need to focus their energy where it will make the most difference, and that means taking a good look at themselves and assessing what internal factors are impacting their fundraising.

Assessing those internal factors requires a holistic approach, combined with mindfulness—the ability to be present and aware of one’s thoughts, emotions, and surroundings. So many people working at nonprofits are stressed, exhausted, overcommitted and overwhelmed—but how can you think clearly and strategically about what you are doing and the decisions you are making if you are not present or mindful in your work? Even more to the point, how can you build meaningful relationships with staff, your board, and (most importantly) your donors or potential donors? Building relationships is the essence of fundraising, but if you are absent-minded and inattentive, it’s simply not going to happen.

Thus was born Mindful Fundraising™. This approach builds on three essential components:

APPLYING A HOLISTIC APPROACH—Look at how your core organizational areas (mission, programs & services, board & staff leadership, and messaging & marketing) are affecting your fundraising efforts.

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR FUNDRAISING—This comes down to an organizational culture of philanthropy, institutional readiness (including a clearly articulated mission statement and fundraising plan), and systems and procedures for identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors.

INTEGRATING MINDFULNESS—Fundraising work presents some pretty specific challenges, all of which are better approached mindfully. This includes thinking clearly and strategically, building relationships, and coping with stressful situations that can come with fundraising.

There are a number of things you can do to integrate the Mindful Fundraising™ approach into your organization. It starts with self-awareness and self-care and then expands to a greater awareness of your organization by: taking a hard look at your mission, evaluating your impact, building fundraising leadership, making sure your message resonates with the world (or at least in your community), developing a culture of philanthropy, being proactive rather than reactive, being donor-centric, and nurturing the soul by incorporating a practice of mindfulness.

Executive Summary


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Applying the Mindful Fundraising™ approach will not only benefit your organization, but also its staff and volunteers. On an organizational level, this holistic approach will improve teamwork and collaboration among departments, keep donors more engaged, and thereby help nonprofits raise more money and become more financially stable and sustainable. On an individual level, it will improve staff and volunteers’ presence, listening and relaxation skills. It will help them forge a deeper connection to the mission, build more meaningful relationships with donors, think more clearly and strategically, and ultimately become more personally effective at fundraising. More efficient and effective fundraising efforts will give your organization a competitive advantage, enabling you to focus on your mission, on your programs, and on changing the world.


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A recent national study of fundraising challenges faced by nonprofits diagnoses many such organizations as being “stuck in a vicious cycle that threatens their ability to raise the resources they need to succeed.”1 That report cites factors such as instability created by high turnover among Development Directors, an inadequate and uneven talent pool, and the failure by nonprofit organizations to achieve a variety of conditions for fundraising success. In this document, I delve even deeper into those issues, but the bottom line remains: we have come to a point where many organizations are no longer able to sustain themselves through traditional fundraising. Our country relies on the nonprofit sector for many programs and services. Without nonprofits, our parks wouldn’t be so green, more neighborhoods would be unsafe, and more people would be homeless and hungry. This is why it is so important to sustain nonprofit organizations, and the people who make their work possible.

Times are changing and nonprofits need to keep pace. The economic downturn of 2008 increased the need for nonprofit services, which in turn increased the level of competition among nonprofits for funds, board members, staff, volunteers—even clients and constituents. Nonprofits failing to meet the demand for their services usually blame inadequate budgets, but there are many other reasons why nonprofit groups fall short of fulfilling their missions. If I wrote a book about how our nonprofit systems aren’t working (and I may), it would include chapters on why we need fewer nonprofits and more social enterprises, why we need to be more diligent about measuring impact and assessing our work, and why nonprofits need to develop more efficient and sustainable models if they are going to survive. That’s where I believe it all needs to shift, but this shift will not happen overnight. In the meantime, services still need to be provided, and that means effective fundraising is still essential to the nonprofit world.

There are always watchdogs eager to point out inefficiency when it comes to how nonprofits run programs, but we rarely talk about inefficient fundraising strategies. Instead we complain about how the economic downturn left people with limited discretionary funds to donate, or how the competition has increased while the pie has shrunk, or we blame foundations for not being clear on their funding priorities. These are all valid points to some extent, but there are always going to be external factors beyond any organization’s control. Nonprofits need to focus their energy where it will make the most difference, and that means taking a good look at themselves and assessing what internal factors are impacting their fundraising.

I have spent nearly a decade as a professional in the nonprofit sector, working in a variety of roles including staff member, consultant, volunteer and advisory board member. This has afforded me an opportunity to observe and really reflect upon what is going on in the field in terms of patterns and trends in fundraising, and the long-term perspective on nonprofit survival. When I launched my consulting business in 2010, we were still in the midst of economic downturn. I began working with nonprofit organizations, helping them make sure that they had the essentials in place to be successful in their fundraising efforts… but I also ventured into philanthropic consulting. Working with both grantseekers and grantmakers helped me understand

Introduction


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the process from both sides. Taking advantage of this unique perspective, and of my MBA and business background, I started helping nonprofits incorporate more businesslike approaches.

As I continued to gain more experience, learning from my clients and monitoring industry shifts and trends, I started to take a more holistic approach to fundraising. The more I talked with clients and potential clients about their organizations, the further those discussions went beyond just fundraising. I began asking broader questions like: How are your programs doing and what is their impact? How dedicated are your staff members—or are they burned out? How involved is your board of directors? What are you doing in terms of marketing and communications? Nine times out of ten, I found that many or all of these other key organizational areas were a mess and that this was having a negative impact on fundraising. Simply put, these organizations could have all of their fundraising strategies in place, but unless they put the rest of the house in order, those strategies would never succeed. I started working with clients to address these other areas, but still it wasn’t enough. There was something missing; I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

Then last fall, I was assessing all the workshops that I had taught and facilitated over the last couple of years. Nonprofit staff members who came to my workshops tended to be distracted by their laptops and cell phones, and stressed from thinking about all the things they needed to be doing. Some felt overwhelmed by what we were presenting because they weren’t even close to incorporating those practices into their own organizations. Even if they understood the importance of what was being presented and how it could help their organizations, they were doubtful that anyone else would understand or be an advocate for incorporating these new ideas once they returned to the office. I knew I had to switch things up somehow. Being the nature lover that I am, and with a degree in Integrative Physiology (the study of how the human body responds to external and internal stimuli like exercise, stress and environmental conditions), I started to think about holding the workshops in a location where people could disconnect from both mobile devices and commitments, free their minds and relax their bodies, and truly take in what I was teaching them.

That’s when it dawned on me. The missing component to my holistic fundraising approach was mindfulness—the ability to be present and aware of one’s thoughts, emotions, and surroundings. So many people working in nonprofits are stressed, exhausted, overcommitted and overwhelmed—but how can you think clearly and strategically about what you are doing and the decisions you are making if you are not present or mindful in your work? Even more to the point, how can you build meaningful relationships with your staff, your board, and (very importantly) your donors or potential donors? Building relationships is the essence of fundraising, but if you are absent-minded and inattentive, it’s simply not going to happen.


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Thus was born Mindful Fundraising™. This approach builds on three essential components:

APPLYING A HOLISTIC APPROACH BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR FUNDRAISING INTEGRATING MINDFULNESS

In this document we will explore each of these three areas in greater depth and demonstrate how bringing all three components together can help us achieve fundraising success—and feel greater personal fulfillment around the important work we do.

Enough is enough. We can’t just continue operating the same way. The next wave of nonprofit movers and shakers is coming in, and this younger generation has a completely different perspective. Let’s shake up the nonprofit sector with a fundamental shift in our mindset. This new model was created to help facilitate such a shift. None of this is rocket science, and much of it is just common sense. So let’s see what happens when we put our common sense into practice…


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The Mindful Fundraising Approach™

Case Study: A Cautionary Tale

A client contracted with me to conduct prospect research and identify funding opportunities, but it quickly became apparent that this would only be a short-term solution. The economic downturn had certainly affected the group’s bottom line, but there were deeper problems contributing to the organization’s slow decline. It had been operating for 14 years—and yet was still stuck in start-up mode. It had not created a sustainable model for its services and funding streams, and still relied on the founder (who was also the Executive Director) for almost all administrative aspects. The organization’s services were not in demand, the impact of those services could not be proven, and both founder and board were burnt out. It just didn’t make sense to keep this organization running on life support, so I ultimately recommended closing down their pro-grams and dissolving the nonprofit. Making sure this never happens to your organization means paying atten-tion to the specific factors that contribute to success or failure…

APPLYING A HOLISTIC APPROACHThere are plenty of resources out there spelling out the core organizational areas of nonprofits. However, very few highlight the connections between these areas and fundraising. If we are to lay a firm foundation upon which to build the framework for our new approach, it is essential that we foster awareness and understanding of how each of the following areas can affect fundraising.

As previously mentioned, there will always be external factors that impact our ability to raise money—but we can no longer use these as excuses. There are many internal factors that are having an even bigger impact on your fundraising efforts right now. The idea behind the holistic approach is to look at all of your core organizational areas: 1. Mission2. Programs & Services3. Board & Staff Leadership4. Marketing & MessagingAs you assess these areas, you may find that you have to crawl out of your silo—or at least get away from your desk more—so that you can better understand the other offices and departments in your organization, or the community where you are trying to make change. It is also important to note that fundraising itself is a core organizational area, but we will go into greater detail on that in the next section.


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1. MissionFunders support your organization because they share your vision and align with your values. Successful fundraising, then, depends in large part on the same thing that drives your organization in the first place: its mission. You need to be able to communicate your mission clearly, and this starts with making sure that your organization’s mission is clear, and easy to understand. Can you explain your mission, in less than 30 seconds, to someone who has never heard of your organization? What authentic benefit does your organization provide? Are you addressing an essential and compelling community need? How does what you do actually matter to the world?

Here are some other essential but sometimes difficult questions that are worth asking: Are you doing the same thing another organization is doing, but slightly differently, simply because you think you can do it better? Have you started a nonprofit because you are really passionate about a particular issue or activity, even though there may be no corresponding need in your community? Are you addressing the symptom of a larger problem that funders tend to approach via broader gateway issues?

Do you understand your organization’s theory of change? This question may sound a bit abstract or academic, but it’s actually one of the most critical pieces of information that a nonprofit should have in place. Why are you doing what you are doing? What is the motivation behind it? What are the assumptions underlying your mission and your work? I wish the IRS would require that organizations applying for 501(c)(3) status present paperwork laying out their theory of change in a logic model. It would really separate out those organizations that are working towards addressing a critical need and understand the best approach to make an impact on that need, versus those that want to turn a personal hobby or passion into a nonprofit.

According to Norman Wolfe’s Living Organization model, “your mission provides a kind of compass, indicating your deeper purpose, the way you go about actualizing that purpose, the values that guide your decisions along the way, and a specific vision of the impact you hope to make.”1 Just as that compass keeps you on track, it also helps funders make decisions about whether to join you on that path.

2. Programs & Services A clear sense of mission is crucial, but your programs are how your organization fulfills its mission. Nothing sells your organization better than strongly aligned programs that serve your mission with demonstrable impact. An organization that’s addressing an essential community need and having an impact on that need is a good candidate for funding.

Impact should not be confused with outputs—markers like the number of people that you serve. Impact is the change that you create. For example: in a soup kitchen, the output may be the number of meals served—but the impact is the degree to which those meals actually reduce hunger in the population that the soup kitchen serves. It is essential that nonprofit organizations be intentional, clear, and realistic about the changes they expect to effect. From a program perspective, these changes


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are considered program outcomes. Program outcomes can be realized and measured on a short-term, intermediate or long-term basis, and can be observed at an individual level, program level, or community level.

When assessing your programs, you may find that they aren’t yet strong enough to create the kind of impact you envision in your mission statement. Or it may be that you’re having impact, but you’re not measuring and evaluating it—or you just don’t know how to communicate it. That’s why a systematic process for measuring impact and outcomes is very important.

Program evaluation not only plays an important role in a holistic fundraising approach by demonstrating impact, but can also be a catalyst for organizational learning. When evaluation is focused entirely on measuring outcomes, opportunities for organizational learning are easily missed. It is not enough just to know whether outcomes were achieved; we need to understand how and under what conditions this occurred, what were the contributing factors, and what could be improved. Discussions about these questions can provide a richer programmatic understanding for staff, board members, program recipients and funders.

For example: the XYZ Organization was presenting educational programs in high schools, designed to promote cessation among high school aged smokers. Strategies included helping smoking adolescents identify their triggers to smoke and develop healthy strategies to deal with stress. An outcome from the cessation program was that 45% of participants indicated a decrease in cigarette consumption since beginning the program. Somewhat disappointed with the findings, the program staff discussed what worked for the successful students and what might be missing for those students who were less successful, and decided to explore the outcome at a deeper level. Interviews and focus groups revealed that students who reported smoking less also had significant peer support from other students both within and outside the program. Peer support was an unanticipated element that needed to be incorporated, and this led to the program being restructured to include more emphasis on peer support.

3. Board & Staff LeadershipRaising funds and making friends is everyone’s job. Even if you have a full-time development team, a lot still rides upon the attitudes and abilities of your board and staff.

Do board members simply show up for meetings every once in a while to approve budgets and listen to committee reports? Or are they present and engaged, actively involved with the organization and out championing it in the community? Are they united and staying on message? (If not, then who is out there talking about the organization and asking for donations?)

Are your board members personally giving to the organization? (If your board isn’t personally committed and contributing, how can you expect anyone else to commit and contribute?) When recruiting board members, are you settling for warm bodies? Or are you taking the time to build the board you need, by identifying candidates


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who are passionate about your cause, willing to be champions for the organization, and equipped with the skills necessary to support it? Effective board members are committed volunteers who are willing to leverage their relationships. One Development Director or Executive Director just can’t do it alone.

What about your staff members? Are they committed, enthusiastic and dedicated to the organization’s mission? Are they comfortable in their roles and with their responsibilities? Are they advocates who can speak with confidence, clarity and excitement about your organization? Can they research issues, write clearly, and effectively frame arguments and cases? Are they able to follow through on projects? Or are they overstretched, overwhelmed and burned out? Your staff needs to be taken care of and nurtured if they are going to be successful fundraisers in the community too.

For both board and staff, strong leadership is a must. Leaders need to embody the mission. When key positions like Board Chair, Executive Director and Development Director are filled by strong advocates, the tone and level of expectation contribute to an organizational culture that supports a strong collaborative fundraising effort. You want leaders who can balance their excitement about the work and its transformative potential against the realities of what it will take to make that happen, and who combine the vision needed to advance the mission with the competency needed to run an organization from day to day.

4. Marketing & MessagingMany organizations these days are stuck in a perpetual state of reaction. Organiza-tions have fallen into the habit of only doing the bare minimum at the last minute when things get dire. Opportunities to be strategic and to evaluate what is working and what is not are lost, making for poor fundraising results.

Reactionary marketing and communication happens due to a lack of planning and strategic thinking. Whole organizational level strategic thinking and planning need to be in place in order to determine what marketing and communications efforts make the most sense, and what related expenses therefore become budgeting priorities. Specifically, organizations must craft strategic and targeted messaging that resonates with their audience, and a plan for getting that message out regularly and effectively.

Developing messaging targeted to your organization’s audience is the key to clear, concise and consistent communications. A good place to start is getting clear on your mission. I have already discussed how important it is to be clear about and connected to your mission, but the holistic approach of Mindful Fundraising™ requires that we consider the mission in multiple contexts since it relates to so many key aspects of fundraising. Another important area to be clear on is your target market. To whom do you need to communicate your message? Hopefully your strategic planning has determined whether your priority this year is getting outside grants, enhancing your organization’s reputation and visibility in the community, or cultivating a few major donor relationships. Whatever your priorities are, create messaging accordingly.

Concise means keeping it brief yet informative, with just enough information to


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pique someone’s interest and make them want to learn more. You don’t want long, drawn out messaging on your brochures and handouts. You just want to be clear and concise enough to inspire an initial action such as visiting your website or “liking” your Facebook page.

Consistent means delivering essentially the same message across all media chan-nels. How in-depth your content is may depend on whether the means of delivery is your website, a brochure, a postcard, a letter or an email blast—but by and large, the message needs to be the same. Again, this comes from knowing your priorities and sticking to them.

Once messaging is clear, concise and consistent, you need to determine when and how to deliver that message to your target audience. Unfortunately, most organiza-tions only contact potential donors and stakeholders when it’s time to ask for money. Your marketing plan should include communications that go beyond “the ask.” Com-munications should help to build relationships, inform constituents and make potential supporters feel special, engaged and connected with your organization.

A coherent marketing plan will map out all the activities that comprise an effective

Case Study: The Holistic Approach

An organization initially hired me to conduct a grants audit, which the board felt represented their best hope for raising more money. After interviewing staff and board members, and reviewing documents, I did indeed identify some areas for improvement in regards to grant prospecting and writing. However, I also identified some bigger problems that were affecting their fundraising, the most pressing among these being messaging and impact. The organization could develop the capacity to write all the grant proposals they wanted, but if they were not clearly communicating the need for their work and the impact that work was having, then they would not be successful in their grant submissions, no matter how numerous.

Our first step was to gain consensus among board and staff on redefining the mission and committing to a strong vision for the organization. Next we identified which programs and activities best fulfilled that vision. Finally we assessed the effectiveness of all programs in terms of impact and revenue versus expense. As the impact of the work this organization does can be difficult to measure, I recommended hiring a professional evaluator to help assess the programs, identify indicators for tracking success, and find ways to better measure impact. Programs would be evaluated based on effectiveness and how well they matched community needs without duplicating services provided by competing groups, from whom the organization needed to differentiate itself. Once this groundwork was laid, we could move on to developing stronger messaging that clearly communicated need and impact through grant proposals and reports, when talking directly to funders, and in all supporting collateral such as the website, case statement, and solicitations.


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communications campaign… and, ultimately, a successful fundraising campaign. Your plan should clearly identify organizational branding and messaging. It should outline marketing and communications priorities, set goals and establish benchmarks for an-alyzing results. The plan should match specific marketing and communications activi-ties to your priorities and goals, and include a detailed implementation plan complete with subtasks, names and deadlines, and a budget.

Finally, it is very important to review and revise your marketing plan! You will be learning from this process even as you direct or implement it, so you will want to maintain an open and flexible mindset. Keep a close eye on what is working and what is not working, to help determine which of the measures in the plan really are ad-vancing your priorities and goals, and which you should eliminate. Formally review and revise your plan every quarter, or at least bi-annually.

Clear messaging and a strategic marketing plan are vital to fundraising success and therefore to the longevity and sustainability of an organization. Whether you create internal teams and committees to take on this important task, or hire outside experts, the investment you make in developing and refining your organization’s messaging and marketing will be repaid exponentially.


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BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR FUNDRAISINGAs with core organizational areas, there are also plenty of resources out there spelling out the basics of fundraising. However, I still want to address the topic here as a reminder, since you’d be surprised by just how many organizations still don’t have the basics down!

What are the essentials to building the foundation for fundraising? By combining and comparing my own knowledge and experience with that of other consultants and nonprofit organizations, I’ve boiled it down to three main points: 1. Organizational Culture2. Institutional Readiness3. Donor Relations

1. Organizational CultureIn my experience, the most important factor in determining fundraising success is a culture of (and respect for) philanthropy from the top down. As mentioned earlier, raising funds and making friends is everyone’s job. Fundraising must be fully embraced as an integral part of operations. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about nursing, social work or education; if staff and board understand that fundraisers are just as important and essential as front-line staff, then fundraisers will get the resources they need to do their job.

Case Study: Organizational Culture

A client asked to me to develop a capital campaign to raise over $1 million, but the organization’s financial history showed that they had only been raising an average of $25,000 per year. I quickly recognized that there wasn’t a culture of philanthropy within the organization. Nobody on the board wanted to go out and ask for money, there was no formal system or database in place for tracking donors, and the group’s reputation in the community had been damaged following some mismanagement of funds several years earlier. I suggested that a capital campaign was not realistic at this point in time, and that they should first build their annual efforts. My recommendations included developing a fundraising plan with systems and procedures in place, building a strong constituent base in the community and gaining their respect, and – since the board and staff were not up to the challenge of asking for money – adding a fundraising professional to the staff.


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2. Institutional ReadinessAnother key prerequisite! Institutional readiness starts with a clearly articulated and compelling mission or case statement that everyone involved can support and feel comfortable expressing in their own words. How sophisticated the case statement and collateral materials need to be depends on the size, age and maturity of the organization or campaign. Naturally, a comprehensive campaign requires a very different level of sophistication than an annual fund drive.

Readiness requires a cogent plan: outline your goals and what tactics will achieve them. Your fundraising plan should be systematic, replicable (i.e., annual fundraising) and include work/progress/outcomes metrics so that you are able to refine your approach annually based on successes and failures. It should address your communications strategy, and take into consideration diversified revenue streams such as earned income, private donations and grant based funding. You want to be open to creative and alternative ways to fund your mission, but be careful about whom you take advice from. Everybody has an opinion on fundraising, but we’re not talking about bake sales here. Your development strategy could make or break your organization’s ability to carry out its mission. Trust the experts!

You will also need the right tools and infrastructure, like a database sophisticated enough to segment and target donors and potential donors (so you don’t just end up sending the same request to everyone) and donor relationship management software for accepting, processing and acknowledging gifts (so you don’t raise it but then lose it).

On top of the good things your organization does, it must also have a solid business sense, and a clear understanding of all the rules and regulations that apply to fundraising operations.

You need to project trustworthiness and integrity, and be able to show that your organization is a good steward of donations. Donors need to know that the organization is going to do what it says it will do, and that if a course change is necessary, the reasons will be clearly communicated.

3. Donor RelationsYou can strip away nearly everything else, but if donors are being engaged in a way they consider meaningful, they will give. In order to keep donors engaged, organizations must strategize around all phases of the development cycle, not just soliciting. The development cycle includes four phases: identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. Identification means communicating with bona fide prospects who share your organization’s passions and concerns, and have the means to support your mission. Cultivation requires understanding that donor-centricity is not just a buzzword. Owning it means being open to engagement. Don’t simply look at a grant as a transaction. Listen, ask, thank, nurture —and renew! Solicitation requires that the need be clearly articulated by people who are ready and willing to ask with passion, and to be unabashed in their follow up. Stewardship is not just milestone celebrations and recognition mechanisms; good stewardship means forging honest, respectful relationships with funders.


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INTEGRATING MINDFULNESSWe tend to think of nonprofit work as “selfless,” and there are certainly many people in the nonprofit sector who prioritize their organizations above their own well-being. While this may be an admirable impulse, it can easily backfire. Insufficient self-care can lead to staff burnout, high turnover, and inefficiently run organizations. Fortunately, we are starting to see a shift in the workplace thanks to a younger generation of nonprofit leadership.

I live and work in Santa Fe, New Mexico—a town known for things like “alternative” spirituality and healing. But when I talk about practicing mindfulness, I don’t want you to feel like I’m telling you to erect a shrine in your office, light candles and incense, and then sit cross-legged on a yoga mat and chant. (Unless that’s the kind of practice that really speaks to you, in which case definitely go for it!) What I am suggesting is finding a practice that fits into your life, makes sense to you, and has direct, positive effects on how you feel and work. And by a “practice,” I mean any ritual meant to help you step back from your habitual and automatic modes of behavior so that you can feel more aware of your thoughts, emotions, surroundings, and other people. That’s the feeling of being “present.”

If this sounds like just another chore, Mirabai Bush of the Center for the Contemplative Mind in Society has some good advice: “Pretty much everybody thinks it’s difficult to fit meditation into their lives. But we say you’re not too busy to brush your teeth or to eat your breakfast. Once you experience mindfulness, which is an umbrella term for meditation and some other practices, you begin to realize its benefits, and then you can incorporate it into your life. Don’t think of it as a big deal, but rather as a short practice each day that really makes a big difference.”2

So why do we need mindfulness in our everyday work around fundraising? As I mentioned earlier, many people working in nonprofits are overcommitted and overwhelmed. This certainly isn’t unique to the field; we’re barraged by media reports on how stress and overwork affect our lives, relationships and health. However, fundraising work presents some pretty specific challenges, all of which are better faced with a mindful approach. These include:1. Thinking clearly and strategically2. Building relationships3. Coping with stress4. Creating a healthy organizational culture

1. Thinking clearly and strategicallyFundraising can be complex. Understanding how it fits into a bigger organizational system requires being able to think clearly and strategically. Mindfulness can help us step back and gain this larger perspective. Practiced consistently over time, mindfulness can also help us process information more efficiently, access new insights about ourselves and our organizations, and ultimately make better decisions. Dr. Otto Scharmer, a Senior Lecturer at MIT and founding chair of the Presencing Institute, writes, “leaders facing problems respond to them by pulling all of the usual


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triggers. But more of the same will not be good enough. Leaders and managers face issues that require them to slow down and even stop; and then they need to start paying attention, listening, reaching out, listening more, sensing what wants to happen, reflecting deeply, and connecting to an inner source of knowing, the inner place of silence where knowing comes to the surface.”3 As one colleague of mine puts it, “You can’t build donor strategy without really getting to know the donor first!” This patient approach takes balance though, since you don’t want to over-strategize so much that you fail to take action.

2. Building relationshipsMindfulness can help you forge stronger relationships with your colleagues and board members so that you can work together more productively—and with donors, so that you can be an effective fundraiser. In his book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman identifies four specific skill domains: 1) the ability to recognize and understand your own emotions, 2) the ability to manage your emotions, 3) the ability to recognize and understand the emotions of others, and 4) the ability to manage the emotions of others.4 These are essential components of both building relationships and mindfulness. Building relationships is the core and essence of fundraising, and you simply can’t build relationships without being present in your conversations, listening carefully, responding tactically and thinking on your toes—that is, without being mindful.

3. Coping with stress Fundraising can be stressful. For one thing, it’s a little too much like dating: the ask, the rejection. Not the easiest situations in the world to deal with. But what if we could better prepare ourselves for these situations, through self-regulation? Prepare ourselves to be calmer, more patient and attentive? To react in a more positive way? Simple breathing exercises can help tremendously. It may sound like an ad in the back of an old magazine, but the astounding truth is that you really can ease your fundraising fears through mindful practices such as meditation.

4. Creating a healthy organizational cultureIf staff is constantly turning over, if people feel demoralized and disempowered within the organization, then it will be that much harder to generate the authentically positive messages about mission and accomplishments that are needed for powerful fundraising to take place. When an organization (and especially its leadership) commits to integrating a mindful approach to its work, the result is often better staff retention as well as higher employee satisfaction and performance, which in turn can lead to stronger fundraising efforts.5

“Attending to our minds first empowers us to be more present to others,” writes Beth Raps in her article “Bringing Mindfulness to Fundraising.” “It makes us less reactive, helps us notice what does not need doing, and makes us kinder and easier to work with, thus making us more attractive to the very key resources we want—commitment, cooperation, and money.”6


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Tree illustration: ©The Center for Contempla-tive Mind in Society; Concept & design by Maia Duerr; illustration by Carrie Bergman

Mindful Fundraising™ starts with self-awareness and self-care, and then expands to a greater awareness of your organization.

So how do you become more mindful? What does a practice of mindfulness look like for you? This can be something very different for each person. It can be done alone or with others, still or with movement, silently or aloud. The Tree of Contemplative Practices, developed by my mentor Maia Duerr (formerly with the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society) enumerates a variety of practices and ways to implement them…

The key is to identify what resonates for you. You may find that all you need is some time put aside once each week, while others may respond to a daily practice which could include something as simple as sitting quietly or taking time to journal before work. For those in a high stress work environment, it may involve learning breathing exercises that you can sit and do quietly at your desk or in your car before or after a donor meeting, or maybe even playing relaxing music. Our breath can ground us and create the space we need in our bodies to calm our minds and relax any tension. We are also constantly rushing. Being mindful is simply taking some time to be still, to be present, and to breathe.

Becoming more aware of your body and breathing can

Applying The Mindful Fundraising Approach

™


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help get you back into the rhythms that nature intended for us. In his book The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder, Rich Louv talks about how “the more high-tech our lives become, the more nature we need to achieve natural balance.” He likens nature to a vitamin that will enhance physical and mental health.1 Another way to be more mindful, then, is to step away from our offices—and from the technology that has enabled our offices to follow us everywhere—and into nature. Taking a walk or eating lunch outside are both simple actions, yet they often seem to elude us.

Mindfulness starts with the individual, but practices of contemplativeness can also be incorporated into organizational meetings, conference calls, and retreats. Please see the resources list at the end of this paper to learn about more ways to build a culture of mindfulness into your organization.

Here are some other things you can do today to integrate the Mindful Fundraising™ approach into your organization:

Take a hard look at your mission. As a colleague of mine likes to say, “Confront the brutal facts.” Take a step back and really think about what the core of your mission is. This may involve having people outside of the organization provide their feedback and perspectives. And I’m not talking about tinkering with the wording of your mission statement; I’m talking about getting to the heart and soul of your organization and being honest about how (and whether) it is affecting people and changing the world.

Evaluate your impact. You have a mission and a purpose, but are the programs that you have designed to carry out your mission truly having an impact? Are they creating change? This kind of evaluation is not an easy task, as impact needs to be measured over time. But there are tools and resources out there to help you do this, and there are proven methods for obtaining quantitative data, rather than relying only on qualitative or anecdotal data.

Build fundraising leadership. As Jim Collins says, “You have to get the right people on the bus.”2 If you recognize that certain staff or board members are not contributing—or are pulling the organization down!—then you have to let them go, and find people with passion for the mission, know-how, and respect for fundraising.

Make sure your message resonates with the world (or at least in your community). Your organization’s mission and message may make complete sense to the founder, but do they strike the same chord for the general public? What strategies are in place for communicating news about your organization in a way that will attract potential staff, board, volunteers and donors? Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, but it must be strategic.

Develop a culture of philanthropy. Make sure that fundraising is everyone’s


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job in the organization and that there is a culture of and respect for philanthropy. It is important for people to understand that solicitation (“the ask”) only comprises perhaps 5% of the fundraising process. The equally important components of identification, cultivation and stewardship offer options for people to find their comfort level when it comes to being involved in fundraising efforts.

Be proactive rather than reactive. Get out of the reactive mode by developing a fundraising plan that specifies your strategy and directs your efforts, but that is flexible enough to let you adapt when challenges present themselves.

Be donor-centric. Build meaningful and authentic relationships with your donors and potential donors by engaging them in the organization. Focus on identifying the passions of donors and matching them to the needs of the organization.

Nurture the soul by incorporating a practice of mindfulness. Mindful Fundraising™ has to involve both organizational and individual transformation. It may start with one individual and then spread through the organization, but for every person this process will look different. The important thing is that fostering a culture of philanthropy means respecting and nurturing the people who make your organization’s work possible, and not taking them for granted.


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As I mentioned, this document is really just an introduction to Mindful Fundraising™. The next step is taking the information on these pages and turning it into action—and that step is in your hands. If some of the scenarios and examples included here resonate for you, you might want to think about how this approach matches up with your own organization, and share that vision with your colleagues.

Applying the Mindful Fundraising™ approach will not only benefit your organization, but also its staff and volunteers. On an organizational level, this holistic approach will improve teamwork and collaboration among departments, keep donors more engaged, and thereby help nonprofits raise more money and become more financially stable and sustainable. On an individual level, it will improve staff and volunteers’ presence, listening and relaxation skills. It will help them forge a deeper connection to the mission, build more meaningful relationships with donors, think more clearly and strategically, and ultimately become more personally effective at fundraising.

That’s the goal: more efficient and effective fundraising efforts. The Mindful Fundraising™ approach is the method, designed to help your organization reach that goal and achieve a competitive advantage that will enable you to focus more on your mission, on your programs, and on changing the world.

Conclusion


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AcknowledgementsMindful Fundraising™ was made possible by many. I am especially grateful to my mentor Maia Duerr of Five Directions Consulting, and my colleague John Ross of John Ross Company, who both encouraged me to move forward with this paper and held me accountable along the way. I want to thank the earliest believer in this new approach, Rubina Cohen of Firefly Strategies LLC, who not only contributed her expertise on the importance of marketing and messaging, but who has also been a huge support to me on this journey. I owe a debt to my close colleague Patty Emord of Collaborative Solutions Consulting, for her invaluable contribution on program evaluation. I also want to thank my dear friend and editor, Rick Louis, who refined and challenged my thinking, and who turned my ideas into something readable. A big thanks to those nonprofit consultants and professionals whom I surveyed for this project: Adam Rubel, Margie McCurry, Maureen Simmons, Jean Block, Heather Tanner, Mick Keville, Jennifer Hobson Hinsley, James Canup, Andy Wolber, Bonnie Catena, Pamela Grow, Susan Detwiler, Marc A. Pitman, Norman Wolfe, Matt Ghiorsi, Peter Ghiorsi, Robert Marchand, Daniel Werwath, Nadine Stafford, Paul Oostenbrug, Rob Tonus, Halle Noelle Treanor, Paul Jolly, and Judy Herzl. Finally, I want to thank all of the nonprofits and social enterprises that I have worked with through the years for inspiring my thinking.


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About Three Stones Consulting, LLCThree Stones Consulting LLC is a fundraising and philanthropy strategy firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Our mission is to make the world a better place by empowering the

nonprofits and social enterprises that enrich our communities and by igniting the spirit of philanthropy.

Three Stones clients have found that our methods make a difference in their organizations, winning us praise for our cutting edge fundraising techniques, innovative strategies, and a collaborative approach coupled with years of multifaceted nonprofit and business experience and savvy. Three Stones Consulting is where energetic creativity and originality meet results-oriented experience.

To learn more about Three Stones Consulting and to download a PDF copy of this report, visit our website at www.threestonesconsulting.com.

About Jessica Haynie, MBAJessica Haynie is the Mindful Innovator behind Three Stones Consulting and Mindful Fundraising™. Her strong commitment to the nonprofit sector is reflected in a decade of experience fundraising for organizations in a variety of fields, ranging from higher education to the performing arts to grassroots environmental conservation. She leads the Three Stones team of consultants in strategizing and implementing holistic organizational and fundraising practices. Prior to that she served as Program Associate for

Positive Ventures, a social enterprise and philanthropy consulting firm. Jessica holds a bachelor’s degree in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado and an MBA with a focus on nonprofit management and social entrepreneurship from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and loves to be active and outdoors, enjoying rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, skiing, hiking, yoga and photography.


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Notes1 Under Developed: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising by Jeanne Bell & Marla Cornelius. January 2013.

2 The Living Organization by Norman Wolfe. November 2011.

3 Why Mindfulness and Meditation Are Good for Business. Interview by Katherine Klein, vice-dean of Wharton’s Social Impact Initiative. March 27, 2013.

4 Seven Acupuncture Points for Shifting Capitalism to Create a Regenerative Ecosys-tem Economy by Otto Scharmer. Oxford Leadership Journal. June 2010—Volume 1, Issue 3.

5 Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman. Ban-tam Books; 10th Anniversary Edition (September 27, 2005).

6 Mindfulness in the Workplace. The Financial Times, July 20, 2009.

7 Bringing Mindfulness to Fundraising by Beth G. Raps. May—June 2012 Grassroots Fundraising Journal.

8 The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. Algonquin Books, 2010.

9 Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great by Jim Collins. HarperCollins, 2005.

Mindfulness ResourcesCultivating a Regular Practice: http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/beginPractices and Exercises: http://cmind.dreamhosters.com/programs/socialjustice/practicesContemplative Meetings: http://cmind.dreamhosters.com/programs/socialjustice/meetingsStaff Retreats: http://www.contemplativemind.org/archives/socialjustice/staffretreatsRitual and Reflection—A Workplace Table of Inspiration: http://cmind.dreamhosters.com/programs/socialjustice/ritual

http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/begin

http://cmind.dreamhosters.com/programs/socialjustice/practices

http://cmind.dreamhosters.com/programs/socialjustice/meetings

http://www.contemplativemind.org/archives/socialjustice/staffretreats

http://cmind.dreamhosters.com/programs/socialjustice/ritual

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by Jessica Haynie Mindful Innovator of Three Stones ......mindful FUNDRAISING We have come to a point where many organizations are no longer able to sustain themselves through fundraising