On Saturday, I was honored to do a training at the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina in Charleston, SC for founders of nonprofits in the Facebook Grant for Supporting Black Communities program.
During the training, a question was asked that I think we all need to wrestle with.
It was basically, “If I build a relationship with a donor before asking, won’t asking for money change the relationship?”
None of us want to “trick” people. Or to do a bait-and-switch with a person.
That’s why I’m not in the “friend raising” school of thought. We don’t need to raise friends. We need to raise funds and advocacy.
We don’t need people to like us. We need people to take action for us.
To give money. To rally their friends. To call their elected officials.
What would you say?
What would you say to a person afraid of “changing” the relationship? Or how have you overcome this fear yourself?
Let us know in the comments and I’ll compile the answers and blog them later.
