18 Dec 3 ways to rekindle your fundraising mojo
If you read my blog, you probably know that I was a classical musician for many years of my life. I still am. But I don’t play as regularly as I used to.
I’ve come to realize that my creativity is one of the key components of my fundraising success: I have a great ability to see opportunities because I am (very rarely) boxed in by constraints.
So how does this relate to you?
When we are kids, we all self-identify as creative. We draw, we dance, we paint. And then we get older, get jobs, mortgages and stuff, and we forget that being creative is important for fueling the soul. It gets placed in the “that’s for fluffy people” bucket.
Truthbomb: Fundraising has a crazy high creativity factor.
We’re always thinking out of the box, finding new ways to do more with less, coming up with great slogans and messaging.
I recently took a watercolour course (I painted THIS Christmas tree. Me! Yes me!) and it reminded me of how important it is to slow down. If you’re looking for some inspiration over the holidays, try these three things:
- Get creative! Pick up a brush, a ukulele, a camera, and view the world in a different perspective. Don’t judge, just enjoy!
- Read a book. There are so many great books to choose from. I am reading Jen Sincero’s You are a Badass and loving it! There’s also Kay Sprinkel Grace’s The Busy Volunteer’s Guide to Fundraising which is a lovely little book of stories, ideas, and advice for volunteers, and for us, not-for-profit staff.
- Sit quietly. This is a tough one for me, I’ll be honest. But I am committing to more reflection time, and more observation in 2017. When you’re sitting quietly, think about what stands out from 2016. Is there something that you’d like to do more of? Less of? Write it down in your favorite journal so you can hold onto that feeling throughout the year.
Give it a go. See what happens when you get creative. And don’t worry if that pesky inner critic starts yammering in your ear. Thank him for his input, and move on.
What’s your favorite creative outlet? Send me an email at [email protected] and let me know.