The Generosity Network

Introduction 

Read this First

The Generosity Network is for all those who are deeply committed to a cause and want to attract others to join them in partnership. That includes those charged with raising funds and attracting resources of other kinds for charities, nonprofit organizations, foundations, universities, hospitals, and many other worthy causes. It includes anyone who works in one of the 1.8 million organizations that make up America’s nonprofit sector, or the 10 million nonprofits around the globe, since virtually all of those associated with nonprofit organizations have important roles to play in attracting the support (financial and otherwise) of people they come in contact with. 

It also includes the millions of Americans who devote part of their time to a favorite organization or cause, whether it’s a local charity; a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque; a beloved alma mater; an artistic or cultural institution; a service organization; or the community PTA, Girl or Boy Scouts, Little League, or library. 

For all these readers, this book will provide ideas, tools, techniques, and approaches that will make attracting and working with partners easier, more effective, and more fun (for some samples, see the list on pages 6–7). Not only will you be able to raise more money than ever before, you’ll also succeed in attracting more resources of every kind—including time, talent, connections, and institutional support. And this in turn will make it easier for you to achieve your organization’s goals, bringing personal and social benefits to everyone you touch.


Eleven of the Secrets You'll Learn by reading The Generosity Network

1. Why reshaping your relationships from the transactional to the transformative is the crucial secret to creating generous, long-term connections.

2. Why the jazz band is a powerful metaphor for a nonprofit organization and its partners—and the simple steps you can take to build your own band (and produce some truly amazing music).

3. How to identify the psychological and spiritual obstacles that are keeping you from being an effective fund-raiser—and how to overcome them, once and for all.

4. How to conduct a first meeting with a potential donor that moves from “that was nice” to building a deep and growing relationship—a totally new approach to connecting with people who can help any organization build an impressive roster of partners.

5. Straightforward, little-known methods to defang the monster most dreaded by every nonprofit fund-raiser: The Ask.

6. How small, inexpensive dinner events can spark more partnerships—and yield greater long-term financial benefits—than the traditional fund-raising gala.

7. How a trip around the world—or around the corner—can transform an indifferent acquaintance into a passionate lifetime partner.

8. Direct from your favorite video game: how avatars are forging profound, real-time links between nonprofit organizations and partners halfway around the world. 

9. Specific steps you can take to turn a disengaged board into an energized source of ideas, talent, networking links, and financial support.

10. How today’s social media and technology tools can help even the smallest organization create personalized connections with enthusiastic supporters from around the block—or around the globe.

11. The most powerful and effective communication tools you can use to connect with partners—and the horrific language and messaging turn-offs you’ve probably committed.


Know Yourself,
Know Others,
Know How to Ask

First, a word about the overall approach and perspective of this book.

There are dozens of books about nonprofit fund-raising. Many are interesting and well-written, offering tips and techniques that we’re sure have proven useful to numerous readers. But there’s a significant gap in the fund-raising literature that we aim to fill. Practically all the existing books are strictly transactional in their orientation. They treat fund-raising as a branch of salesmanship and so focus on strategies and tactics analogous to those used by salespeople. The goal: to close the deal, which in this case means to get a check from the donor.

We find this view of fund-raising woefully inadequate—and ultimately ineffective. We believe true success in the nonprofit sphere requires a complete shift in the way we think about fund-raising, from the transactional to the transformative.

The traditional approach to fund-raising is one of the main reasons why most of us in the nonprofit world think of fund-raising as a necessary evil—something separate from the mission of our organizations, something to endure for the sake of a greater vision of the world in which we want to live.

But when it’s viewed properly, fund-raising is not a necessary evil. It’s sacred work, a beautiful practice characterized at its best by compassion, joy, commitment, and partnership.

It grows from the core conviction that we all want to make a difference with our lives and that, with the unique resources we each have to offer, we can tackle some of our planet’s biggest challenges and opportunities. There is beauty in that conviction and in the prospect of living our lives in accordance with it.

Part of the reason for our misunderstanding lies in the very word fund-raising, which places the spotlight on money alone. And while of course money is a critically valuable resource in the good work we all seek to do, there are other resources that are equally underactivated: time, creativity, networks of relationships. The Generosity Network uses the broadest possible definition of fund-raising, referring to the activation of all resources in support of worthy goals, projects, organizations, and visions.

There are other common ways of thinking about fund-raising that blur reality and hamper our effectiveness. One is to talk about it in terms of “asking for help.”

That’s the language of dependence. It transforms the fundraiser into a supplicant on bended knee, seeking assistance in a world of scanty resources from a wealthier, more powerful donor.

In The Generosity Network, we invite you to shift from “asking for help” to exploring how all of us can work together in pursuit of a common vision using the unique resources we each have to offer. When we think in those terms, we soon find that the sense of dependence and scarcity disappears. Instead, we discover that we are living in a world of abundant resources, and that we are simply waiting for a team of partners to arrive who will call upon the floodgates to open.

So this is not just another book about how to be a more persuasive salesperson, another book about tactics and strategies for more effective fund-raising, or even another book about how to find and tap into your donors’ passions. Our message is a new one: True generosity is rooted in relatedness. Fund-raising is, above all, a form of connection. And the greatest gift we bring to our partners is not just the chance to support important work, but rather the opportunity to join and build a community of people who are joyfully discovering their unique gifts and applying those gifts to meet specific challenges. That’s how we really move the needle on the most urgent challenges of our time.