Sonya’s Catalytic Corner

Powering up your fundraising and advocacy muscle

In the fall of 2009, the Stanford Social Innovation Review’s cover story was “Catalytic Philanthropy” which rocked the world of established philanthropy as it means throwing everything you have, beyond your checkbook and grants, to achieve your goals. In the same issue was “The NonProfit Starvation Cycle” which captured the spiral our sector has yet to get out of.

If philanthropy is changing the way they approach their giving, fundraisers better change the way they ask if we want to break the starvation cycle. After twenty years of helping organizations gear up for major campaigns, it seemed like the only time that organizations were organized and excited about their vision was during a campaign. I think our missions deserve that level of excitement all the time, which is why I am now dedicating my professional experience to help advance the fundraising profession to harness their passion and vision in a way that attracts philanthropy, leadership, and opportunities and quite frankly, makes it all worth it. “Catalytic Fundraising”  is ownership throughout the organization, led by highly professional development staff, that result in passionate, electric visions, strong cases that are relevant and responsive,  transparent goals and honest, ethical relationships with donors. And if we are really fiscal stewards of our organization, we have to embrace the power of advocacy to leverage our missions and our voice, because if we aren’t at the table, we will definitely be on the table.

So stay tuned to blogs, resources, and rants that I hope will be useful to the important work we are all doing. And if they aren’t, I trust you will let me know!

-Sonya