Stay Above the Fray

By Kimberly Jetton, CFRE, MNM

Are You Pushing Your Donors Away?

Do you truly value your donors? Not just in theory, not just in the annual report, but in practice. Have you, and those before you, worked tirelessly to earn that first gift, and the next one, and the one after that? Are your donors seen as partners—essential, engaged, and deeply connected to your cause?

Of course, the answer should be yes, yes, YES.

But let me tell you a story about a fundraiser who, whether she realized it or not, said a very different answer: no.

The Cost of Forgetting Who Funds the Mission

I was at a gathering of fundraisers—smart, dedicated people, all focused on the challenge of securing funding in an uncertain time. Conversations turned to government funding and the concern that new policies might cut budgets for nonprofits. The smart money? Individual donors. Investing in relationships. Building a culture of giving.

And yet—one fundraiser from a senior service organization admitted she had just sent out a communication to her donor base that she knew wouldn’t be well received. And she sent it anyway.

Why? Because she was frustrated. She resented the fact that many of her donors had voted in a way that she believed put her organization at risk financially.

She made her frustration known. And in return? A wave of unsubscribes. And, predictably, those donors took their checkbooks with them.

The Real Question: What’s Your Job?

I get it. The political climate is charged. Funding is uncertain. Decisions made at high levels have real-world consequences for nonprofits.

But let’s step back.

Your job isn’t to judge your donors or to forsake your base for personal beliefs. Your job is to serve your mission. And your donors? They’re not obstacles. They’re the people who make the work possible.

Here’s the irony: While lamenting possible funding cuts, this fundraiser actively cut off a source of support. She made the decision, in that moment, that proving a point was more important than keeping the lights on.

Smart Fundraisers Stay Above the Fray

There’s a lesson here, and it’s one that the most successful nonprofits already understand:

Do not make your mission another battlefield.

Your donors are already facing division in their families, their communities, their workplaces. Your nonprofit should be a place of unity, not another source of conflict.

They give because it brings them joy. Because it makes them feel part of something bigger than themselves. Don’t take that away from them.

The best fundraisers? They see donors for what they are: partners. And they never, ever, forget it.