By Allison Celosia and Priscilla Hsu
“Why are fundraisers in electoral and advocacy spaces doing the same old nonprofit-y donor-centric scarcity mindset sense of urgency nonsense? Aren’t politicians and community organizers supposed to challenge and transform the status quo?”
Inspired by CCF’s 10 Principles of Community-Centric Fundraising, I have reflected on how I champion DEIB in my role, and wanted to share my strategies with other higher education Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) professionals.
Since fundraising is almost entirely built on relationships, what can we learn about relationship building from “How to Build a Sex Room”? And what would it look like to apply these lessons to fundraising?
My workshops to advance equity in data are built with this intention — to build collective knowledge around data collection and visualization in a way that allows us to appropriately challenge those places where data can lead to exclusion and alienation. I learned five lessons by offering these workshops to individuals from different roles, sectors, and data comfort that I want to share with you.
“I’ve navigated a lot of spaces that have implicitly or explicitly not been for me. Over time, you learn what parts of yourself to bring forward and what parts to protect.”
“To turn words and values into meaningful and impactful action, nonprofit leaders must transition our personal leadership and organizational strategy from performative to transformative.”
“Many companies and organizations have recognized that a 4-day workweek is a great idea but haven’t actually done it yet. When researching the concept, I felt as if there was a dearth of practical, logistical information about how companies can transition. I decided to journal about how the new policies were affecting my workflow and to track what happens when the rubber meets the road.”
“Our work compliments the already existing efforts of those who are being marginalized. It can be hard to come to terms with this as a nonprofit employee and as a donor.”
“…if our source of support doesn’t come from the ‘master’s house,’ from racism, from capitalism, from the United States, where does it come from? I offer that we turn to Nature, or Earth.”
“I’ve been seeking a justice-centered workplace where I can be my authentic, Queer, Trans, Latinx self for my whole career. Like many, I’ve been exploited as an employee and I need a workplace where I am represented, gendered appropriately, and can thrive — what Social Justice Partners Los Angeles terms a ‘liberatory workplace,’ where everyone feels belonging and freedom.”
“Many fundraisers recognize that current fundraising practices and philosophies are harmful and founded on white saviorism but are unsure how to dismantle oppressive practices. I hope to shed some light on how we have approached CCF.”
“How do we honor and uplift our lived experiences of socioeconomic class, and turn them into a source of strength to become fearless fundraisers? I don’t have all the answers, but I do know we should examine how we learned about money as children, because this affects how we operate in the world as adults.