Only a Very Small Percentage of People Know What Real Nonprofit Fundraising Even Is

Nonprofit GrowthDevelopment
Written By Sherry Quam Taylor
Image of a nonprofit leader meeting with a donor and discussing the organization's needs through relational fundraising

I was sitting with my client helping her interview a candidate for a potential leadership position. Super sharp individual who’s coming out of corporate.

 

The topic of fundraising came up twice . . .

 

🗨️ Her first comment: “I don’t want to stand on a corner and beg for money.”

 

And…

 

🗨️ Her second comment: “I hate begging companies for gift cards. I had to do that for my kid's school.”

 

[crickets]

 

You know? More people wouldn’t hate fundraising if they actually understood what it REALLY is.

My client she was interviewing with?

✔️She’s exceeded her goal every year for the last 8+ years

✔️Doesn’t have a big gala or golf outing

✔️Is fully funded half way through her fiscal year most years

✔️And she’s never done one of those things described

✔️Operates in and hours-to-dollars mentality

✔️Raises MILLIONS each year through investment-level conversations

 

Nothing against the candidate. She was phenomenal in many ways.


It's just that she's never needed to know this relational fundraising skillset. Until now.

 

These are cousin comments to board members saying, “I’ll do anything, but I’m not asking anyone for money.”

 

Bottom line...The point I’m making is only a very small percentage of people know what real FUNDRAISING EVEN IS.

Image of a quote by Sherry Quam Taylor, "Only a very small percentage of people even know what fundraising really is."

 

Fundraisers must constantly be educators as to what true, relational fundraising is. They must model it for board members and push against the grain. 

 

The challenge here? Your team must be equipped with the skills to do so!

 

That’s where I come in. Apply here to get help with this.

Whenever you’re ready, here are THREE things you can do next:

👣 Follow me on LinkedIn where I share insider info daily — the same lessons I teach my clients about attracting larger gen-ops dollars and diversifying revenue. 

🍎 Grab FREE Guides + White Papers — download robust resources you can use to push against the sector’s misconceptions, equip your board, and shift your team into High-ROI fundraising.

📈 Work with me to diversify revenue & secure the gen-ops gifts you need to grow. If you’re a business-minded nonprofit CEO with big growth plans but need to make charitable revenue from investment-level donors a bigger part of your budget, you can apply to work with me here.

Sherry Quam Taylor

Sherry Quam Taylor works with business-minded Nonprofit CEOs whose Strategic Plans require expansive budgets and larger amounts of general-operating revenue for growth. To become investment-level ready, Sherry helps leaders see their revenue potential and helps them see what may be blocking donors from giving in this way. Sherry’s clients know how to attract larger donors by solving the funding challenges at the root of the issue.

As a result of learning her methodology, Sherry’s clients become sustainable, diversify revenue, and know how to add significant amounts gen-ops revenue to their budgets. But mostly, their development departments and board have transformed into high-ROI revenue generators – aligning their hours with relational dollars and set free from the limitations of transactional fundraising.

Sherry attributes the success of her business to her passion for modeling radical confidence to the future CEOs in her house - her two college-aged daughters.

https://www.QuamTaylor.com
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