Will the current system deliver on fundraising’s higher aspirations?

It was perhaps two years ago when a mutual friend introduced me to Meghan, and I immediately felt compelled to help elevate her ideas throughout the sector. Not only do I believe that Meghan represents a smart and ambitious generation of young leaders, but she is also demonstrating extraordinary courage in sharing her opinions both as a guest on the podcast today and as the featured contributor in our recent edition of Carefully and Critically. Meghan provided our readers with a very timely and provocative article that begged the question of whether our sector can learn how to better center the voice of the marginalized communities that we serve and offers a counter-narrative for how meaningful and effective a more community-based approach can be for those on either side of the exchange.

As our conversation got really warmed up, Meghan and I wrestled with how much we believe in the current system and whether it can be counted on to meet some of the expectations that so many have raised as of late. I am far more skeptical. For example, as much as we like to believe that it can, I am quite convinced that the current system will not effectively deliver on our DEI aspirations. As admirable as our intentions might be, the homogenous population of donors that Megan refers to in her article are also the donors who collectively feed our deep-seated needs for efficiency, predictability, and control.

As always, we are especially grateful to our friends at CueBack for sponsoring The Fundraising Talent Podcast.

And, if you’d like to read Meghan’s article as well as those from our other contributors, you can download Responsive’s latest edition of Carefully & Critically here.