Recently I was in GIVING magazine talking about a nonprofit revenue problem few want to talk about...I called the article, Catastrophizing: The Nonprofit Revenue Problem No One Discusses.
You see, in all my years working with nonprofit leaders, boards, and development teams, I’ve come to believe that often the internal narrative running inside a fundraiser’s head is one of the most underexamined reasons orgs stay stuck financially.
I know. Don't hate me.
I was reminded of this recently while digging into the book Stop Letting Everything Affect You by Daniel Chidiac. It’s a real-life guide about breaking free from overthinking, emotional chaos, and self-sabotage.
(A topic I personally know too much about!)
While this narrative wasn’t written for fundraisers, specifically, I couldn’t stop applying it to conversations I have almost every single week. It resonated with me, because what I routinely hear around nonprofit conference room tables are these objections:
😱“If we canceled the gala, I don’t think those donors would continue to give.”
😱“That funder would never shift their project-based gift to gen-ops support.”
😱“Reaching out again so soon would offend them. They’d be upset with me.”
😱“We could never raise that much. Our team is already stretched thin.”
Each of these statements feels like analysis. Again, like reasonable, experienced judgment.
I’m here to offer that they’re not. They are, in fact, thought patterns rooted in scarcity. The kind of patterns that quietly cap an organization’s revenue potential year after year.
This is the mindset work I do every day with my clients. And, it's a critical part of the problem that needs to be solved before you grow!
Whenever you’re ready to move past Catastrophizing, there are THREE things you can do next:
👣 Follow me on LinkedIn where I share insider fundraising info daily — the same lessons I teach my clients through my consultancy about securing larger major gifts and diversifying revenue.
🍎 Get Resources + White Papers — download robust resources you can use to push against the nonprofits sector’s scarcity mindset, equip your board, and shift your entire team into high-ROI fundraising.
📈 Work with me to fully-fund your nonprofit organization’s strategic plan and aspirational budget. If you’re a business-minded nonprofit CEO or Executive Director with big growth plans but need to make charitable revenue from relational donors a bigger part of your budget, you can apply to work with me here.
