You know what the most critical thing is that rescuers and other charities forget? It’s that they’re fulfilling a duty for our entire society.
It’s not about you. It’s not about the homeless family or abused dog that’s in front of you.
It’s about what kind of world we want to live in. It’s about survival.
The essence of charity is this: help what’s in front of you so that if you ever need help, society will be there for you.
We’ve failed at so much of that. Tragically. People die from our failure collectively make sure everyone has health care. A safety net. A way to defend themselves. Safe streets to walk on.
And we’ve doubly failed at extending those benefits to everyone in our society.
Black and White. Brownish and Tan. Deep Russet to Golden. All colors.
Christian and Jew and Muslim and Atheists. All faiths including those who have none.
Male and female and LGBTQI+ and all parts of what is less a straight line spectrum and more of a circle.
And not just people.
Dogs and cats and weasels and crows and dolphins and eagles. All of them.
And this is what the rescuer does. What charities do.
They step into that gap, that failure. They step in and hold back bad things from happening. Jam a stick between the spokes of a wheel, Shine a light on evil.
But NOT – and this is IMPORTANT – for their own benefit. They do it for all of us.
I know you get that when you think about other people. But if you’re really going to do this, if you’re really going to run a charity and step into that gap, you have to make that massive shift in your own thinking.
You have to think that way about what you are doing.
Believe that and it will completely change how you approach fundraising. You will start to truly feel that you’ve picked up the baton that the rules and the laws and the institutions have dropped.
And once you’re there, in that mindset, then you know what fundraising really is. It’s not beating people over the head, begging, or finally resorting to spending your own money to do everything.
Once you get this, you’ll feel a new freedom. It’s no longer you versus donors. It’s you AND your donors. Because you are nothing alone. But you are is the pointy end of the spear, the part that the enemy sees. Behind you stands all of society, thanking you for what you’re doing. And then you know what fundraising truly is.
Share the story, share the need. That’s all you have to do.