Are you the only development person in your office? Do you sometimes feel like you’re out on a
long lonely limb?
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| Photo by Bruce Aldridge on Flickr.com |
You’re not the only one.
For organizations lucky enough to have a dedicated fundraising person,
building out a team can take years. It’s
not until the budget reaches $1 million or more that you might have a colleague
to help with things like grants or special events.
So given that you’re on your own, how can you find the
connection and support that will keep you going during difficult times? Here’s a crazy idea – start a peer group.
“Peer support can build in accountability and commonality,
reduce isolation, and provide encouragement and connection while providing
guidance from the more experienced for the less experienced,” says Tina Kenyon
of Concord Hospital in New Hampshire in The
Happy Healthy Nonprofit, a new book by Beth Kanter and Aliza Sherman
looking at strategies for impact without burnout.
Identify four colleagues who are in similar situations to
you. Choose a platform – a Facebook
group, WhatsApp, Slack, Google Hangout. Agree
to check in with each other at regular intervals.
Take turns issuing individual and group challenges and cheering each
other on.
“This month let’s see if we can make 100 thank
you calls to donors. That’s just five
calls a week if we distribute them equally.” (use a Google sheet to track your progress)
“Let’s read one page of a book each day. Once we are all finished with a chapter, we
can set up a lunch time conference call to discuss.” (books can be about fundraising,
productivity, etc.)
“Ugh. I
am going for a 15 minute walk to relieve stress. Who else could use a break?”
There is something about making a statement publicly, “today
I’m going to do that thing I’ve been putting off” that is so powerful when it
comes to accountability. Like you’re
going to let down your colleagues, and more importantly yourself, if you don’t
keep your word.
Your peer group doesn't need to be exactly five people, there’s
nothing magical about that number. You
could do this with more or less – you could even do it with two, although if
your one accountability partner drops out due to illness or a job change you
would need to start over.
The important thing is that you have regular contact with peers who understand what you are going through, and who share your desire to be the best
fundraising professional you can be.
Worth a try?
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