Fundraising: An Activity that Goes Beyond Raising Resources

BY: Neighbors’ Consejo|

Fundraising is an activity people generally understand as a way to support a cause of a company, organization, nonprofit or person. However, this activity goes further, because it contributes to generating wellbeing in others and above all, in ourselves.

According to nonprofitquarterly.org, [1] “fundraising is generally defined as the process of soliciting financial support and is an essential way for most nonprofits to bring in revenue for their organization’s mission. Fundraising is about so much more than just asking for money. It also consist of ways for charitable organizations to build relationships, bring in foundation support, and attract new donors.”

To exemplify how important is fundraising with figures, according to the National Philanthropic Trust [2] : Americans gave $485.85 billion in 2021, this reflects a 4% increase from 2020; corporate giving in 2021 increased to $21.08 billion, a 23.8% increase from 2020; foundation giving in 2021 increased to $90.88 billion, a 3.4% increase from 2020.

Additionally, giving by bequest in 2021 was $46.01 billion; a 7.3% decline from 2020; in 2021, the largest source of charitable giving came from individuals, who gave $326.87 billion, representing 67% of total giving: in 2021, the majority of charitable dollars went to religion (27%); education (14%), human services (13%), grantmaking foundations (13%) and public-society benefit (11%).

However, we have to start asking why we should start fundraising now. Well, according to realbuzz.com [3] there are 10 main reasons: Take on a personal challenge, it is super fun, because it is a great way to have fun while raising all-important cash, fundraising has proven to be great for staff morale and often adds a bit of spice to the working week, we will get a real sense of satisfaction from knowing we are giving back and helping out our community, getting involved in raising money is great value to raise awareness about a particular issue or cause, charities are completely reliant on our support, if not us, who?

Added to this, getting involved with fundraising can give a boost to a charity’s work, it can also be a great way to meet like-minded people, helping others, making a difference, and raising money for a good cause can give you a real boost.

On their side, fundraisingIP.com [4] assures that there are three great benefits of fundraising:

Unexpected benefits: The person or team that raises the funds will feel an enormous feeling of satisfaction because more than charity, they will be able to experience that the support given to others was a mission for the benefit of the community in need.
Fundraising can make a huge impact: Showing others that the funds raised have positive consequences in a community, this will encourage people or organizations that donate or fundraise bring benefits to others so, they can join the cause.
Learn to help others: “Fundraising is one aspect of engaging children in civic minded activities from a young age. It creates awareness in a young person that they are part of a community, and that this position entails a certain amount of responsibility and also self-empowerment.”

In this regard, there are some very interesting data presented by Double the Donation [5] :

Millennial donors and Gen X donors worldwide prefer to give online (credit or debit card), mostly inspired by social media. Baby boomer donors worldwide prefer to give online (credit or debit card), mostly inspired by email.
The average donor in the US is 64 years old and makes two charitable gift a year.
31% of worldwide donors give to organizations located outside in their country of residence.
Female donors are more likely to make a donation because of social media marketing, while male donors are more likely to give because of email messages.
67% of worldwide donors also choose to volunteer locally in their communities, and 56% regularly attend fundraising events.

Therefore, we invite you to make fundraising an activity that goes beyond work; please think about the benefits that this brings to you and the community that needs support.

If you want to look for a charity, consider donating to Neighbors’ Consejo, and organization that for more than 26 years has provided free support in emotional and social wellbeing to the neediest neighbors in Washington D.C. With your support, these activities will continue within the community.