When we get ready to build something, whether it is a house, a website, or an organization, we often have a sense of what we want the final product to be, but we may not know where to start. In the case of building an organization, we know we want a healthy fundraising program that allows us to raise enough money to do our work. But what is the first step, and then the second, the third, to get to our vision? What do we need to know even to take the first step? In this section, we look at what is always true about fundraising, and what must be in place for fundraising to be successful. The COVID lockdown of 2020–2021 gave us an unwanted but still useful time to see if what we knew to be true about fundraising before the pandemic would hold during such an extraordinary change in how we lived and worked. Many of these changes are permanent, but we also see the fundamental principles holding firm.
This section starts with an overview of the nonprofit sector as a whole. It is important to understand the ecosystem that your organization is a part of, and this understanding may help you shape some of the decisions you will make about your fundraising program.
We then discuss the necessity of knowing what you believe in and what your work is about. You may be surprised to learn how much of your organization's ability to raise money year in and year out requires not so much knowledge about fundraising strategies as how lucid is your vision, along with how clearly you express what you think needs to be done, and how well you can find people who share your values.
Next, we look at what motivates people to give away money and how you can feel more comfortable asking for donations.
The section ends with a description of the people who are instrumental in both fundraising and the success of your organization: the board of directors.