Finding Partners and Helping them Past legitimate Concerns

I had a conversation this week with a tremendous volunteer, one who serves as a leader at one of my clients. While the call was scheduled for 30 minutes, we spoke for almost an hour. This conversation was a tremendous reminder of the value of volunteers, when used and partnered with correctly, and the need to help them better understand what we do as philanthropy professionals so they can overcome their trepidation when it comes to fundraising.

During the conversation, it was apparent that she wanted to increase her engagement with the non-profit by being more of a conduit to the community regarding sharing the great work the client is doing as well as introducing some within her social circle to key staff members of the foundation. The mind was there. The heart was still questioning the decision. The challenge was, and is, that she doesn’t want to offend any of her friends or acquaintances.

While we worked through a lot of the vernacular of what to say, this conversation that I so enjoyed wasn’t about the “words” as it was “comfort level.”  It was a great reminder for those of us who do this regularly, a lot comes either naturally or we’ve learned to live with it. But for many of our volunteers, board members, and others, it’s a challenge. It’s new. It’s uncomfortable.

We need to continue to embrace that discomfort and help board members, other key volunteers, as well as our executives, with training and discussions about what we know: if offered the right opportunity, many community leaders will engage. It has to be done correctly, with great deference, and making it more of a “relationship” opportunity than just a “transaction.”  In doing so, we increase the notoriety of our nonprofit and the value it delivers to the community. In addition, we also gain a tremendous ally who can be the ears, eyes, and voice for our nonprofit in places where we, as the professionals, may not be every day.