Cecilia Guzmán, a board member of Teatro Municipal de Santiago and founding partner of G-V, addressed the role of boards in fundraising at OLA’s 19th Annual Conference, held at the Municipal Theatres of Lima. She approached fundraising from a broader perspective than simply seeking financial support. The starting point is not financial resources, but the purpose that drives an organization and its ability to bring others on board with that project.

One of the ideas she shared was the definition used by the Spanish Fundraising Association: Fundraising is not about money. It is about the desire to make the community, society and the world a better place. This perspective invites us to understand fundraising as a strategy for building long-term relationships, based on trust, shared impact and the creation of value for
society, rather than as a one-off mechanism for obtaining resources.

Tips for reaching out to donors

• Stop asking and start inviting.
  
• Don’t be afraid to go out and seek support, and build tolerance for failure. Not every conversation ends in a donation, and learning from them is also part of the process
  
• Follow up with donors. They are allies of the organisation, so it is important to invite them, keep in touch and make them feel part of it, regardless of the size of their contribution.
  
• Put the cause or project first. Donors are not interested in funding the organisation’s day-to-day operations, but in being part of a concrete project.
  
• Measure and communicate results. Have metrics to assess how the campaign worked, how many people it reached and which strategies were most effective.
  
• Having the resilience to accept failure. Not every conversation results in a donation, and learning from these experiences is part of the process.
  

Watch Cecilia Guzmán’s keynote at OLA’s 19th Annual Conference