I was delighted to lead a recent class for DonorSearch. 150 people joined; all asking great questions. I can see the commitment to women’s philanthropy growing!
You can watch the full class below.
To break it down, here are four key takeaways, including how to start:
Four Key Takeaways from the “Gender Matters: A Practical Approach to Grow Women’s Philanthropy” Flash Class
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Research is not enough
Simply knowing the research on how women give in unique ways is not enough to change and grow their support. If it were, we’d already be doing it.
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New behaviors are required
Change will only come when we engage with new behaviors. We need to adapt our fundraising practices to meet women as they prefer.
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You need more than one person for true change
Such change requires more than one person focused on women’s philanthropy – it takes intention and integration across the organization. How do we research differently, communicate, manage our portfolios, request our donor visits, ask curious questions, design bold asks, etc.?
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Three ways to start
How can you start? We quickly discussed these three points in the webinar, and I go into far great detail in my book.
- Listen & Learn: What does your data reveal? What input do your women donors and stakeholders have?
- Leadership Commitment: Change takes top leadership believing in the need to focus on women. How do you gain that commitment? How can you show the bottom line impact when more women are sharing increased resources for your mission?
- Create a Village: Who are your colleagues, and volunteers who can help you review the data, work with leaders and design the new approaches?
Are you and your team ready to get started on growing women’s philanthropy at your organization? Having a guide can make all the difference.
Thank you to everyone who joined this webinar, and all the participants at the 30+ presentations I’m making this year. It takes a BIG village across this country to recognize that #TimesUp on not paying attention to women when we fundraise. We need the creative, smart, caring, networked and philanthropic other half of our population helping us with all their resources. We have important challenges to solve in our society and women are the missing ingredient to accelerate the change we seek.
