Fearless Fundraising

Our latest article for Contributions Magazine, Fearless Fundraising, is out and now online. Contributions Magazine discontinued its print edition and has gone fully digital. You’ve got to be a subscriber to read the articles — luckily, subscriptions are free. Just head to www.contributionsmagazine.com.

Here’s a taste:

Chutzpah is a Yiddish word you’ve no doubt heard. In its Hebrew origin, it describes a shameless audacity, even insolence.

But as chutzpah has filtered into mainstream use, it’s often used in a positive way to describe a bold fearlessness. This sanitized definition of chutzpah is about as good a word as you might find to describe the qualities of some great fundraisers.

Whenever I consider admirable boldness in fundraisers, I can’t help picturing my colleague and fundraiser extraordinaire, Anne Garnett. A former development and executive director, now a consultant, Anne suggests that she developed her fearlessness studying sharks (the ones in the ocean) and serving as a shipboard cook.

I caught up with Anne in D.C. where she’s doing some consulting work. She was delighted to share a few personal stories with me.

Anne’s mantra is pretty much “just go for it.” She believes that if you don’t ask, you’ll never get anything. Besides, if you really believe that your mission is important, then you’ve got no other choice.

— You can read the rest of the story in our Toolbox by clicking here.