From a Fundraising Pallet or a Fundraising Palace: opposite views of donor centricity.

Different definitions of donor centricity highlight the two polar opposite worlds of fundraising — whether you aspire to find a Fundraising Pallet or inhabit a Fundraising Palace. Your definition is also probably aligned with how much power you have in relation to donors and within your organisation (and yes, this is about privilege too).

From the Fundraising Pallet: Donor centricity as donor power

I began this week with a dozen important conversations with fundraisers living in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Pakistan, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Senegal and the Philippines.

Together, we are navigating fundraising in difficult situations: in a war zone, during a military coup, under a communist government, where fundraising is banned, where there is no charity law, rampant corruption, threats of violence, internet and electricity blackouts, no table for a donated laptop to rest on… all on top of a global pandemic.

We discussed their decades of fundraising experience, their past successes with governments and global trusts, and that 90–95% of their proposals are now rejected. We explored effective…