"ACTIVATING THE PEOPLE WHO CARE THE MOST": IN CONVERSATION WITH FUNDRAISING CONSULTANT CINDY WAGMAN

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

---

Fundraising expert Cindy Wagman is the founder and CEO of The Good Partnership, a fundraising consultancy which helps small non-profits achieve their fundraising goals. She brings a BA in Women's Studies from Queen's University, an MBA from the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and over fifteen years of fundraising experience to work with her every day.

Cindy has learned that fundraising is all about relationships and collaboration. (Photo source.)

How did you come to start The Good Partnership?

I was approached by an organization to run a capital campaign for them, and was able to negotiate that I could do that role as a consultant rather than as a staff person. That was when I looked at what I wanted and where I was in my career and thought, “Oh, I could start a consulting business!” I was able to negotiate that, and then from there really figured out how to grow the company. I knew I wanted to work with small organizations. I think they’re doing really interesting work, and it evolved quite organically based on our learning and our work with our clients. I didn’t really know where I wanted it to go, but I’m happy with where we are. 

For so many of the people in the program that I’m in, when you talk museum fundraising, people think the ROM, the National Gallery, the big ones. The reality is that the vast majority of museums are small heritage sites. 

That’s where our sweet spot is. No other consultants really serve them in a meaningful way, and the kind of support small organizations need is fundamentally different from what most consultants do. Most consultants give advice and walk away, whereas we specialize in implementation. It’s like having a staff person with you. We work with a lot of arts and cultural based organizations. Some are museums, some are hybrids where they’re site-based and festival-based. There’s so much diversity within the sector. There are 86,000 registered charities in Canada. 80% of them have operating budgets under half a million. Most organizations are small, we just don’t know about them. 

What in your perspective is the biggest misconception non-fundraisers have about fundraisers?

What I hear from non-fundraisers all the time is that fundraising is icky, it’s begging. They have this perception that fundraising is about taking money away from people who don’t want to give it away. That’s the opposite of what fundraising is. Fundraising is really about activating the people who care the most and giving them an opportunity to invest in things that excite them, and to envision the future that they want to build. That’s the biggest misconception, just that people don’t want to give, therefore fundraisers are bad people. People want to give, they want to support, they care about organizations and they want to see them be successful. All of the people who aren’t “chosen fundraisers,” they all say, “I’m not a fundraiser, I don’t know how to fundraise, I’m not a good fundraiser.” Part of it is that money is taboo, we aren’t supposed to talk about it. Mostly it’s because there’s this myth that people don’t want to give, and that’s just not true. People need to hear directly from donors to understand that fundraising is community-building and mobilizing support. If you can do that successfully with volunteers and board members who are non-fundraisers, you can get them much more on board and more excited. I also think part of the problem is that so many small organizations have been unsuccessful with fundraising. Not only do they not want to do it in the first place, but then they try so hard and get no results. It’s a cycle, and part of it is our brain saying, “We’re not good at this, and our results aren’t going to be good.” It’s a cycle I’m on a mission to break, and to get people to feel good about fundraising so it can build and grow on itself. 

The number one trait it takes to be a successful fundraiser? According to Cindy, it's curiosity. (Image source.)

What personality traits does it take to be a successful fundraiser?

There’s one thing that makes for an excellent fundraiser: curiosity. What people perceive to be fundraising is pitching. Elevator pitch, corporate pitch, talking at people. Good fundraising is the art of listening. It’s hearing from people why they care, and giving them options to take action on that by supporting the organization. Introvert, extrovert, all of those things don’t matter. People have different styles. Authenticity and curiosity are the two biggest, most important character traits. It’s really about how you uncover what the true opportunities for support are. You also need to be curious about the programs. You need to listen to your curators. Be curious about everyone you’re interacting with, because then you get to see a much bigger picture and you can connect people with what you care about. It’s something every good fundraiser needs to be skilled at. I haven’t come across any evidence to say that it’s something we don’t have innately. What it requires is stepping back from our preconceived notions about pitching and presenting and turning that into listening, and everyone has that capability. 

At the end of the day, fundraising is relationship building, it’s customer service, and being able to say, “What is interesting to this patron? Let’s connect them to the right person,” rather than saying, “Here’s what we’ve got. Donate.” 

There are archetypes of what I call “reluctant fundraisers.” There’s consistency in personality archetypes in these people who say, “I’m not a fundraiser, I can’t fundraise, I don’t want to fundraise.” An example is what I call “The Perfectionist.” Often I see this with programming staff or board members who are saddled with fundraising who are very good at what they do, but don’t want to fundraise. What happens with the perfectionists is they seek more and more information, but they never take action. The best way to learn something is to practice it. What I encourage for those people is not to worry about the end, not to think about the ask. Flex those listening muscles. That’s how you’ll learn and get comfortable talking with donors. From there you can build your capacity to have the conversations, and become a “doer.”

Let’s assume someone is put into a fundraising role, perhaps as a larger role, where can they start? What are those key pieces of information you need before you can get going?

Start by listening to donors. Go through that donor list, reach out to as many of them as you humanly can, and ask for feedback and advice. You want to get to know them. We do that without exception, because I think that’s the number one consideration to having a good fundraising strategy and being successful in fundraising. You have to know your donors and understand who is already at the table. Once you do that, the rest comes. 

Learn more about The Good Partnership by visiting their website, and find out which fundraising archetype you are by taking Cindy's self-evaluation quiz.