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Questioning Diversity in Fundraising

I’m currently on vacation so, the past couple days, I’ve been working my way through Cultivating Diversity in Fundraising by Janice Gow Pettey. As I read her book, several questions keep coming to mind. Anybody that really knows me will appreciate that I tend to ask a lot of questions to challenge my own assumptions. This isn’t to say I disagree with my assumptions, rather I think it’s important to be on a continual quest for knowledge and questioning is one of the ways I learn best. With that said…

One of the underlying themes of Janice’s book is that, by bringing diversity to fundraising we will improve donor experience, fundraiser performance, and organizational sustainability.

If this is true, then:

  • Why don’t I see more AFP or CASE conferences, seminars, or webinars discussing best practices of incorporating diversity into a nonprofit’s organizational culture?
  • Why don’t leading charity evaluation tools (e.g. GiveWell or GuideStar) have measures for diversity as it applies to organizational performance, donor experience, or sustainability?
  • Are we demonstrating an ethical dilemma by not seriously considering diversity in our organizational strategic plans?

Perspective on a Fundraiser’s Perspective

I’m thankful to have Lilya Wagner as a mentor, colleague, and generous friend. She’s been an encouragement these past several weeks but has also been challenging me (in a good way) as we work together on a project. Recently Lilya forwarded me a link to an article relating to our project.

The article, Who are we to talk?, is written by Emily Cavan Lynch, a public health consultant and freelance writer. She poses the question, “would development aid be more effective if it was delivered by people whose life experiences are more similar to those of the supposed beneficiaries?” I find this question quite intriguing.

It has been several years since I took the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) exam but I vaguely recall one of the questions asking about the demographic profile of a board of trustees. This particular question related to the fact that one of the potential members under consideration to join the board represented, not wealth but, the perspectives of the non-profit’s beneficiaries (if memory serves me correctly, the potential board member represented a racial profile).

In my research of the culture of philanthropy in Ghana and my Ethiopian travels to work with an NGO located there I’ve learned that the best practices of the West don’t translate well to the circumstances of the cultures represented in these countries. I agree on the importance of making a priority to use cultural perspectives to inform the programmatic/strategic aspect of the NGO. The fundraising strategy is no exception to this and should also mirror the cultural characteristics of the native demographics… but how is this done?

Research can get you quite far, but it is no substitute for active listening and deep engagement with benefactors and beneficiaries that represent a different perspective. A fundraiser’s perspective would be greatly impacted if they let the experience and judgement of beneficiaries help guide their work.