Having a “positive” relationship with your donors is a cornerstone of fundraising success. It's the key to building trust and earning loyalty, which is why so many fundraisers and executive directors are afraid of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. But what if you could be completely honest with your donors? What would that look like?

With Rickesh Lakhani, we're discussing the importance of “honest fundraising'' in today's episode. Rickesh has over 15 years of experience in the social good sector, and he is the current  Executive Director at Future Possibilities for Kids. He believes that we are all responsible for each other’s success.

Myths that Rickesh wants us to walk away from:

• Donors should only know about the good things in your organization. Being honest with your donors about the reality of your organization will help them understand how your organization works and how you are spending your funds. It can bring them closer to your organization and help you achieve more of your goals. 
• Donations should only go to programs and services.  Allowing donors to understand unrestricted funds and how they will support your services in the long term will help your organization become more sustainable. 

Rickesh’s tips on starting an honest fundraising  

• Start with your team. Write down everything you wish donors knew about the work you do and tell them the realities of everything that happens within your organization that they aren't aware of.
• Communicate with donors.  Start having an honest conversation about fundraising with board members and annual donors, or with people you feel most comfortable with.
• Make it a practice. Building trust and relationships with donors doesn’t happen overnight, that’s why you need to make sure to include them in the conversation to help them understand how the organization works and how they can help in a more meaningful way. 

Favourite Quotes from Today’s Episode

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“When I say honest fundraising, it's not that we've been dishonest, but there are specific things that we have been withholding from donors and proactively sharing with them that are keeping things the way they are and what we're wanting all this change we’re wanting donors to invest in the space differently and have a different relationship. And we're holding back on some of these conversations that we're all having amongst ourselves and we're not having with donors. And so I was like,  how are we going to expect them to understand and change what they're doing? If we, as the folks who are living this day-to-day, aren't letting them into that a little bit more?”

“Trust is built through the good times and the bad, to the vulnerability.  ”

Resources from this Episode

Rickesh’s Twitter 

Rickesh’s LinkedIn 

The Good Partnership

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