<aside> <img src="/icons/token_blue.svg" alt="/icons/token_blue.svg" width="40px" /> **You’re looking for…**a way to make fundraising feel natural and energizing by building on your organization's authentic strengths and connecting with supporters in ways that match your team's genuine talents.
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TL;DR: Successful fundraising leverages your authentic strengths, not cookie-cutter tactics. This guide helps you design campaigns around what you naturally enjoy, test ideas with trusted supporters, and engage different audiences strategically—raising more money with less burnout.
What's in it for you (WIIFY):
I've helped design dozens of fundraising campaigns over the years, and I've learned one crucial truth: building from your authentic strengths is the starting point for campaign success. When you force yourself into fundraising approaches that don't match your natural talents, it's like trying to swim upstream – exhausting and ultimately disappointing. But when you start with what energizes you? Magic happens!
Let's start with some examples that you might have uncovered when thinking about Joyful Fundraising. Say you love public speaking. You come alive on stage, you've got compelling stories to tell, and you've noticed (or have actual evidence!) that your speaking engagements consistently bring in enthusiastic supporters. Instead of forcing yourself into grant writing or cold calls, let's leverage that natural strength.
Or maybe you're a natural relationship-builder. You thrive in one-on-one conversations, you remember personal details about people's lives, and you've noticed that your coffee meetings consistently turn acquaintances into devoted supporters and advocates. Instead of pushing yourself to organize large-scale events or manage complex databases, let's leverage that genuine connection-making ability.
The result? Deeper engagement, higher retention of donors, and the joy of fundraising in a way that feels energizing rather than draining to you and your team.
Ask yourself:
First, think about why you're doing these (e.g. for fundraising, generally it's about who is in the audience). Get really clear on the audience you're looking for. Are you targeting high-net-worth individuals? Foundation officers? Corporate giving managers? The audience determines everything else.
Part of this process is understanding your funding community. Understanding where each supporter falls - whether they're current, past, or potential new funders - allows you to tailor your approach accordingly. For instance, current monthly donors might respond well to deeper engagement opportunities, while researched foundation prospects might need more educational content about your impact before making a commitment. This segmentation ensures you're speaking to each group's unique relationship with your organization.
Want to break this down? Our Designing Your Campaigns Worksheet includes a chart that helps you segment your supporter community into nine distinct groups across individual, institutional, and corporate categories.
Think about what you have to share that is compelling and, of course, based on your strengths and joy! If you shine at public speaking, this could be about sharing your life story and showcasing your own lived experience to bring folks in. Or if you're a natural at building one-on-one connections, this might look like intimate coffee chats where you share a specific success story your organization pioneered – conversations that both inspire individual supporters and bring in funders interested in either novel approaches OR helping to scale that solution. This could also be about leveraging your relationship skills or speaking talents to highlight an incredible partnership to bring in prospective funders who are looking for strong leaders and creative models they can connect with authentically.