Raising money can be easy or it can be hard – it’s your choice. The right fundraising mindset makes all the difference.

There are two things that make fundraising easy:  knowing (and doing) what works, and believing you can be successful.

If you’re using tried and true fundraising and marketing strategies, you will raise money.

More importantly, if you believe in your cause and you’re passionate about the work your nonprofit is doing, you will be raising the money of your dreams very soon!

The successful fundraising mindset

Successful fundraising can be boiled down to 4 key components: Mindset, Mission, Marketing, and Money.

Mission is about doing something that matters in the world.

Marketing is how you connect with people who care.fundraising mindset

Money is, of course, fundraising.

Mindset is about what you think and what you believe.

It’s about getting (and keeping) your head in the game.

When you focus on the abundant possibilities you have for raising money, you’ll find fundraising to be simple and easy.

When you start thinking that your nonprofit is too small or the economy is bad, you’ll find fundraising to be difficult.

You see, what you think about is what you bring about. 

Focus on the positive and you’ll have a positive experience.  Your fundraising mindset is 90% of your success or failure.

Be careful of your mindset around money.

What do you think about money?

Your beliefs will affect your behavior and results.

Many people are uncomfortable with fundraising. They’re scared to ask for money. They hide behind a computer, writing grants and appeals, and they never get face-to-face with their donors.  And it’s too bad, because face-to-face is where the big money is.

To avoid discomfort, they use excuses, like “people won’t give because of the economy” or “we don’t have any rich donors” or “our Board won’t help with fundraising.”  Excuses lead to mediocrity.

If you think fundraising is hard or that rich people are greedy, sleazy, or snobs, then you WILL have trouble raising money.

If you’re afraid of things like rejection, failure, the unknown, humiliation, criticism, etc., you’re going to have trouble raising money.

To combat it, you must have passion in your cause, belief in yourself, hope, faith, and positive expectation.  You must be willing to do whatever it takes to raise money. You must adopt a “No Excuses” approach.  You must be so committed to your mission that you’re trying to work yourself out of a job.

  •  Always be looking for what works in your organization.  If it doesn’t work, either fix it or stop doing it.  Remember, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.
  •  Be persistent.  Don’t give up if one grant is declined or one ask doesn’t bear fruit.  Keep learning and improving your skills, and keep your eye on your goals.  Remember, when you do your job well, people will be helped and lives will be changed.
  •  Act as if it were impossible to fail.  It’s amazing what happens when you shift your thinking!  Just imagine what you could accomplish if you adopted this one belief.

Working on your fundraising skills and your fundraising mindset is like bathing – you must do it regularly for it to work.