220 | Has the pandemic readied fundraising for a growth spurt?

If we were to think back on what was on the front burner in the fundraising space pre-covid, we might recall that most of our concerns weren’t really about fundraising per se. Many of our discussions were about abuse of power, mental health, equitable access, and whether the decisions we were making were ethical ones. My conversation today with Karen reminded me of the universality of such concerns and had me wondering what should really be expected of us going forward versus what should perhaps be expected of our sector in general.

Karen is one of only a few guests who have go so far as to suggest that fundraising demands a certain degree of emotional maturity before one can be successful. I tend to agree and believe that many of the current as well as pre-covid challenges that have weighed us down will lessen as we continue to mature. I hope that any growth spurt in the near future, perhaps the silver lining of the current pandemic, increases our awareness that anything worth having comes at a cost, will require hard work, and certainly won’t happen overnight. For example, if we genuinely want to be more inclusive, more diverse, and more equitable, we’re going to have to let go of some of the efficiencies that we’ve grown comfortable with. We have to also be willing to venture beyond the status quo in order to experience fundraising in new and creative ways.

As always, we are grateful to our friends at CueBack for sponsoring the fundraising talent podcast. 

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