The Zen Approach to Modern Fundraising: 11 Paths to Serenity

Fundraising can be stressful. But it doesn’t have to be…

Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty. When we use the word today in western culture, we’re generally describing then notion of peace and tranquility with the mind and spirit. Yet, peace and tranquility rarely define the life of a fundraiser.

In the past, I’ve talked a lot about work-life balance and how you can achieve happiness with respect to your career in the nonprofit world. In this post, I’d like to continue along that path and suggest some concrete ways to bring more serenity to your day-to-day work.

11 Paths to Achieve Fundraising Zen

Here are eleven tips to make your fundraising work more “Zen” — that is, more peaceful, calm, and successful!

1. Set appropriate goals

Your fundraising goal should be based on the donors you have, not the hole in your budget. With that in mind, the idea of using a gift range chart model from capital campaign fundraising makes good sense to set an appropriate fundraising goal.

For example, to raise $1 Million, you will need:

• 1 gift at $200K
• 3 gifts at $100K
• 6 gifts at $50K
• 10 gifts at $20K

Those first four gifts get you to 50% of your $1 million goal. You can swap a grant or fundraising effort for any one of those gifts to help meet the goal. No more frenzied fundraising — just a patient, logical process.

2. Un-schedule an event

Unless your organization only has one fundraising event, you probably have too many events — and it will feel amazing to cancel one.

To figure out which event to “un-schedule,” assess your events to determine which is the least successful. Measure success based on three things:

1. total dollars raised (minus expenses)
2. number of people in attendance
3. amount of work required for staff and volunteers

Once you do a quick assessment, it will become clear which event to cancel, thus freeing up more of your time and energy for brighter pursuits.

3. Assume the best, not the worst

Instead of assuming people will not meet with you, assume they will!

Ask your donors questions like, “when can we meet?” which doesn’t leave room for a negative response. Doing so will help you assume a mantle of calm and confidence.

4. Use positive language

Fundraising isn’t about begging for money or twisting arms. Instead, focus on inspiring people to give, partnering on projects, providing opportunities, improving the community, etc. You can do this by using encouraging, uplifting language when speaking and writing about fundraising.

5. Reduce the number of grants written

Which grant application isn’t worth the amount of work you put into it? Perhaps one that provides a small amount in exchange for an extensive application and reporting requirements?

Free yourself from that grant application and give yourself permission to spend your time on other more worthwhile priorities.

6. Use technology to make your life easier

Try at least one new technology, service, or app every year. If you’re not using a scheduling app/service yet, I recommend Calendly. It saves me at least 100 hours every year (not an exaggeration).

I used to have to send a slew of back-and-forth emails to get group meetings on the books. Since adopting that one app, I’ve enjoyed an incredible amount of tranquility in my life. So I urge you to explore the technology that’s out there and discover apps that will save you time and give you peace of mind. Invest the time in finding them — it can pay off in wonderful ways.

7. Take frequent breaks

Schedule breaks into your days, weeks, months, and year. There’s nothing like a little time off to restore your work-life balance. Here are five specific ways to make sure you take a little more time for you:

1. Schedule short, ten-minute breaks throughout the day.
2. Don’t skip lunch and don’t work through lunch.
3. Pick at least one day per week when you don’t respond to emails, phone calls, or do work of any type.
4. Each month, take at least one day off.
5. Schedule at least two, week-long vacations (or stay-cations) per year.

So follow that mantra; take a little more time for you — because you’re worth it!

8. Schedule a listening tour

Take time to get to know your donors. Building relationships helps you connect with people, and connecting with people is not only useful for your fundraising, but it’s also a great stress-reliever.

Start with board members and go on a listening tour. Schedule thirty-minute meetings to learn more about your biggest potential donors. Find out why they support your organization and what might encourage them to consider bigger gifts.

9. Learn from a mentor

There’s nothing like learning from someone who’s been down the road you’re traveling. Identify a professional fundraiser whom you admire and ask if you could buy them coffee. A great source of mentors is your local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

10. Throw spaghetti at the wall

Try something new each year and see if it sticks. Don’t worry too much about whether it will work. Sometimes great fundraising comes from thinking outside the box.

Push yourself a bit to get outside of your comfort zone. Take a break from the “same old, same old” things you’ve always done. Remember the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Don’t be insane — try something new. You might be surprised by what it can do for your mind and soul.

11. Connect with an accoutabilibuddy

Truly Zen fundraisers know that patience and consistency win the day. Great fundraisers continue to make calls to donors, even when they don’t feel like it — especially when they don’t feel like it. An accountabilibuddy is someone who can help you stay on track; you keep each other accountable.

One of the most useful aspects of my program, Mastering Major Gifts, is the peer support at the heart of the program. Participants have the support of experts and colleagues to learn from, collaborate, and celebrate with. It’s a great place to find your accountabilibuddy.

The #1 Source of Fundraising Stress? Deadlines

There are a variety of reasons why fundraising can be stressful. You’ve read about many of them above. But I’d argue that the greatest source of stress for fundraisers is deadlines — those pesky, unrelenting deadlines.

Both fundraising events and grants have specific deadlines. And while they can be a source of motivation, deadlines also produce a hefty amount of anxiety. So in an effort to achieve a greater degree of Zen with your fundraising, honestly ask yourself:

How can I better meet my goals and also eliminate some of the deadlines in my life?

Putting more time into raising major gifts rather than organizing events and grants is an excellent way to spread out your deadlines and work at a more even pace. I’ve been extolling the virtues of raising major gifts over other forms of fundraising for years — it has, hands down, the best ROI of any type of fundraising.

So if you haven’t yet explored the major gift fundraising process, I encourage you to do so — you might start with the Major Gifts Challenge. It’s a great way to learn the basics and start spreading out your work load (and it won’t cost you a dime).

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Which of the tips above will you adopt to become a more Zen fundraiser? Tell me in the comments — I’d love to hear from you.