A new model for fund raising
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Although its power has reached far beyond the giving and raising of money, the philanthropic quest still offers much to those whose central interest is the development of an organization's financial resources.
The goal of this application of the philanthropic quest is to lift the practice of development to the highest possible level -- so that organizations attract greater philanthropy, donors receive greater satisfaction, and society benefits more than ever before.
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The transformative commitment
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The philanthropic quest aims to attract the transformative commitment -- the single largest philanthropic investment in the organization's history. The true value of this commitment lies in what it will communicate about the worth of the organization.
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How it works
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The methodology of the philanthropic quest is built on the best practices of the profession's past and present, as well as new ideas from many disciplines, including the behavioral sciences -- especially the "learning-edge" concepts of organization development.
The philanthropic quest gives us a methodology to collaborate with donors and all others who have a stake in the success of the organization, and to co-construct an image of the future. We accomplish this by looking for the best in the organization and its people, including its donors. Instead of dwelling on problems, we look for potentials. And we move beyond finding common ground ... to finding higher ground.
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Facilitating breakthrough philanthropy
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This approach provides an antidote to fashionable pessimism and cynicism. It gives us a way to locate and tap into the kind of energy that can lead to unprecedented voluntary action -- particularly the heroic deeds of philanthropy.
Below is one of the charts from The Philanthropic Quest series. This list will give you a sense of how the philanthropic quest differs from conventional fund raising and, at the same time, is grounded in the best of proven practices.
The chart is split into two contrasting poles for the sake of illustration. When you get more involved with this process, you'll see that we've not entirely rejected traditional methods.
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| Conventional approach | The next level |
| Problems | Possibilities |
| "The glass is half empty" | "The glass is half full" |
| Problem-driven | Vision-led
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| Money | Meaning |
| Scarcity of resources | Abundance of resources |
| Critical thinking | Generative thinking |
| Resistance | Energy |
| Organization wants to get something | Donor wants to do something |
| The kind of organization the professional wants | The kind of world the donor wants |
| Tell the organization's story | Listen to the donors' story |
| Professional is acquisitive | Professional is inquisitive |
| Donor is reactive | Donor is proactive |
| "Catch-up, get-by" fund raising | Optimal philanthropy |
| Incremental advances | Unprecedented breakthroughs |
| Token gifts | Full-of-meaning commitments |
| Cultivation | Collaboration |
| Coverage | Authentic engagement |
| Event: the "ask" | Process: lifelong relationships |
| Taught -- as admonitions | Learned -- by example |
| Control fund-raising costs | Invest to build equity |
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