A New Path in Fundraising - My first post on my organization's blog.
As a Black arts leader and fundraiser my experiences in the industry are vastly different than that of my white counterparts. With the current pandemic further magnifying the resource gaps between white-led and Black-lead arts organizations, I think it is important that I share my experience. I am also fortuante to work for an arts and cultural institution that allows me to share my experience. Read an excert fbelow from my recent article on The CD Forum Blog Post about how our small organization is navigating these times and what I, as the lead fundraiser am doing to help us chart a new course.
Expectations are a funny thing. Many of us spend a majority of our time trying to manage them in a way that a) doesn’t get our feelings hurt and b) keeps us moving forward with at least a modicum of confidence that we are actually capable of making good life choices. The kind of choices that all of our mamas could be proud of. That said, if you would have told me that 2020 was going to turn into the type of sucker-punch that knocked us all squarely on our collective behinds the way that it did, I don’t know if I would have bothered getting out of bed after the first of the year.
Like many of my colleagues in the fundraising profession I have had to become very comfortable with an even greater level of ambiguity. Projecting revenue goals based on the voluntary donations of kind and generous people can get a bit tricky at the best of times. Every gift that CD Forum receives is a joy, but it is just that, a gift. Something not to be begged for nor demanded. Like any act of good will, it is to be welcomed, honored, and stewarded with the best of intentions when, and if ever, it arrives. While we can anticipate receiving certain donations from individuals at different times of the year, as well as funding from institutions, and some government support here and there, fundraising–especially in the arts– has always been a bit of a gamble. That said, each organization has its own cycle of giving that carries an innate degree of dependability and predictability. But today? Forget it! Gone are the days of planning ahead by six or twelve months. Nothing is really predictable or knowable anymore and those of us in the fundraising profession cannot be certain when that security might come back. With the widespread impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on all of us, the task of planning for a brighter tomorrow seems almost insurmountable.
It would be a disservice to say nothing of the economic hit that many Americans have faced during the past several months. In particular those of us who were already at the economic margins, such as BIPOC, LGBTQAI+, and folx with disabilities. It is the psychological, emotional, and spiritual assault that we’re all reckoning with that feels the heaviest to bear. Being cut off from friends and family and managing an existential crisis all while simultaneously living through the Trump administration? This is NOT how I thought the year would go. I had PLANS! I was supposed to go to Japan and see hundred-year-old temples and write deep, beautiful poetry while riding the bullet train between prefectures. Weddings and celebrations and newfound love have all had to take a backseat to the pressing civil and political turmoil that is our new reality. Knowing all of this, how in the world are any of us fundraisers meant to look at another forecasting document with the same level of interest?
The answer:
“And still she persisted.” Click here for the full article.
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