Connecting for Good: Cultivating Community in Nonprofit Work
I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who could proudly announce that they’d selected their “word for the year.” Such insight and amazing vision! I’m going to “live with intention!” My word for the year is grace! I choose joy! This year, I will be present! And although the year started months ago, I’m just now struck by the fact that my word for the year chose me: it’s community.
Community is at the heart of our nonprofit world. We’re creating a community of support, supporting communities in need, or turning to our professional community for advice, guidance, and validation. This year, I’ve thought long and hard about community—how to build it, engage deeply with it, and contribute meaningfully.
Building A Community Of Support
As nonprofit professionals, we spend a lot of time thinking about donors. What do we want from them, what do we need from them, how can we get it? Are we utilizing best practices to make donors feel engaged, appreciated, connected, informed, and energized? Is our impact obvious to them? Can they see their part in our stories?
Lately, I’ve been feeling something that many colleagues also express. There’s an awful lot of “we” or “our organization” or “us” at the center of our narrative…and very little about the donor. But when you think about it, the donor is crucial to our mission. What does the donor look for from this relationship with our organization??
Building a community of support and engagement for a nonprofit organization is the first step in creating an impactful sphere of influence. It has very little to do with money and everything to do with surrounding ourselves with a circle of individuals who feel like insiders in our organization. Because that’s the way we treat them. By focusing less on what we want from them and more on what they get from us, we head toward building a true community of support for our mission.
Who’s On Our Team and Why?
Do you know why your donor made their first gift or why anyone favors your organization?
We’ve been intentionally reaching out to discern the answer to this question in my organization. The stories are surprising. We’re a theatre, and we’ve been in our community for 66 years. It’s truly difficult to find anyone who grew up in our community who hasn’t interacted with us at some point in their history. One woman told me she and her mother had worked at the theatre many years ago. Another told me her husband was the local ice cream delivery man back in the day and brought 5-gallon tubs of ice cream to the theatre so the actors could have some refreshment. One gentleman gives to a specific program because his father and father-in-law taught orchestra in local high schools and supported the high school theatre productions with live orchestra performance. A current actor in a national Broadway touring company indicated that our theatre “…made her who she is today.” The sister of a program participant indicated that her sister’s involvement was life changing. These are the people who make up our community of support.
A community of support, a community of individuals favorably disposed towards our organization, is invaluable. They provide stories that speak to the impact of something of intrinsic value, like a cultural institution, in a community. They provide stories demonstrating how we’re all interconnected and how our organization is deeply intertwined with their story. Because they’ve shared that information with us, we infer they would welcome the opportunity to engage more deeply with us. To re-prioritize those positive memories in their mind, help your network push them to the forefront by deepening their engagement with your organization.
Deepening Engagement With Our Community
What constitutes deepening engagement with our community of support?
For example, perhaps an opportunity to learn more about current Broadway productions since we represent their local connection to Broadway and musical theatre? If we offer a brief lecture on the current state of Broadway…well, we may see that as inconsequential and a waste of valuable time, but our supporters’ view is likely quite different. They hear about the topic from a true “insider” on Broadway, our executive producer. They are among a select group of people who attend an exclusive happy hour to learn more about this topic that interests them. They feel informed, knowledgeable, included, and perhaps even a part of something greater than themselves.
There are many ways to deepen engagement with your supporters.
- Send them an article you think they might be interested in
- Send a quick thank you note for being a part of your community
- Invite them to something typically not offered to members of the public
- Remember something that they love and offer to accompany them to an upcoming community event featuring that
- Ask their advice on a new program you’re considering, or on ways you can expand an existing program
- Get their feedback on a recent event
The possibilities are endless.
Make them feel like they matter…because they do! We can’t ask someone we don’t know for anything, so use all the opportunities at your disposal to get to know the people in your community of support.
Nonprofit Professionals Need Community Too!
Professionally, I’ve opened up this year to all the possibilities associated with community-building.
The first step was embracing the nonprofit community on LinkedIn. By engaging more deeply with the platform, my community has expanded worldwide. I took an interest in conversations, interacted with thought leaders, asked questions, and offered perspective when I could. There’s so much to take advantage of that it can become overwhelming, but focusing your efforts and interests is so enriching!
One thing leads to another, and somehow, I became connected to Tasha Van Vlack and The Nonprofit Hive, and suddenly, my world blossomed! I am now connected to people across the country and around the world. I’ve connected with people in Europe, Africa, Australia, and Canada. Introductory conversations have led to deeper discussions, follow-ups, and possible future collaborations. All because I opened my mind to the possibility of more connection via the LinkedIn community.
Nonprofit work can be hard and lonely. Interacting with a community of peers can be invaluable to retaining perspective, peace of mind, and enthusiasm for the work. Just having someone to talk to who can relate to what we’re going through is so validating! Someone to laugh with about the common pitfalls of nonprofit management can help you see that you are not alone, and laughing at how absurd things can be at times tops up your endorphin levels and centers you to move forward. To quote a classic Streisand song…we’re people who need people!
The Importance of Community
It’s beautiful to watch the sea change overtaking the fundraising space as people move away from the transactional and toward the critically important authentic relationships that must be built to create a community of support for our organizations. Donors are not merely check signers or credit card holders. They are not assets to be acquired. They are people with rich stories that intertwine with ours. Their connection to us is worth discerning and nurturing. We want something from donors but are learning to spend more time finding out what donors want from us. And we’re finding that what they want is our authentic selves sharing our mission and our story and seeing the points at which our story intersects with and enriches theirs.
We’re humans. According to Psychology Today, human beings are a social species driven by a desire for community and belonging. We want to be a part of something. We need connection, context, validation, and feedback.
In kindergarten, we learned that you need to be a friend if you want to have a friend.
Be intentional. Build a community of support for your organization. Love the people who love your work. And build a community of support for yourself with just as much intentionality.
Because community is an essential part of who we are and is at the heart of everything we do.
Haven’t joined The Nonprofit Hive yet? You are missing out! Join today 🐝
Zoe Metcalf is a passionate advocate for the power of philanthropy to change lives and communities. She has been involved with the nonprofit community and fundraising since the mid-90s and has nearly 30 years of experience as a professional fundraiser, grant writer, volunteer, board member, and leader. She is currently the Annual Fund and Grants Manager for Casa Mañana in Fort Worth, Texas, and she serves on the board of the North Texas Chapter of the Grant Professionals Association and is a member of the Fort Worth Metro Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
She is also a proud member of The Nonprofit Hive and an ardent believer in its mission to create community for nonprofiteers across the globe!