Welcome back so glad you're here. Last time we chatted about how you need to get real about what you need and to stop accepting old Dell laptops that you don't really need. And that what you actually need is unrestricted dollars. Hello. And this week we're gonna talk about how you need to change what you believe about yourself and about your donors. So I think we have a lot of underlying beliefs that stop us from raising six and seven figure gifts. And one of them is.
And this might sting a little bit, so just buckle up and get ready. one of them is that if we're really honest friends, we believe that we have cornered the market on giving a shit. We believe that nobody cares as much as us about what we. No one is willing to sacrifice at the level that we are dare. I say that it borders on martyrdom that in the nonprofit sector, we have convinced ourselves that rich people are greedy and that they don't care that there is a lack of empathy.
And that we in the nonprofit sector are the heroes of the. We are willing to work overtime for pennies on the dollar and serve the poor. I mean, are you grossed out yet? Here's the deal we have got to change the way that we see ourselves and step off of the fake throne of humility. Cuz if you really wanna talk about humility, Serving others. The, the greatest form of humility is courage. When humility is fully developed, it looks like courage.
Let me explain what I mean, the most courageous act that you can take is one where you are sacrificing yourself on behalf of somebody else. Right? You think about. When you hear like crazy stories of a child being trapped under a vehicle and their mother sprints over and with just like heroic, supernatural strength can lift up this vehicle and save their kid. That's a huge act of courage. I mean, you could really hurt yourself doing.
But obviously the mother isn't even thinking about herself at all in that scenario. Right. She isn't even thinking she's just like, save my kid. Boom, go reaction. It's amazing. And that's really what courage looks like. Right. It's like, I'm not even thinking about how I feel in this moment. I'm not thinking about my comfort level. I'm not thinking about, wow, I've never done this before.
When the mother is going to save her child, she doesn't even consider her own feelings or safety or emotions or discomfort or how she will appear, or if she's crazy or perceived as crazy. Right. It it's irrelevant. All of these things are irrelevant. That's what courage looks. And a lot of us nonprofit leaders.
When we think about asking for more, we automatically go to the place of self preservation and I understand it I've been there because you've worked so hard to build these relationships with donors. You don't wanna risk them. You don't wanna risk ending them or losing them or appearing. Like, you're just all about the money, right? If you talk about money and you ask for money, then you're greedy and your donors are going to no longer speak to you.
You're gonna offend them when the truth is, we don't really ask for more because. There's so much that we get out of that we get to appear humble. When remember humility fully developed, looks like courage and courage is I'm willing to sacrifice my image, my comfort level. My comfort zone. What I'm good at what I've had experience and success in.
I'm willing to step out of that in order to take a risk and ask someone to join me in this fight by giving we've gotta change the way that we see ourselves and redefine what it looks like to be a humble leader. A humble leader is not someone who burns themselves out and has no boundaries. That is just a leader who is burning themselves out and has no boundaries does not mean you are humble. The most humble leaders are the ones who are willing to take big risks.
It doesn't always mean they get it right, because remember, this is a lab we're testing it out. We're willing to try and fail and experiment and explore and learn what works and what doesn't. So not only do you need to change the way that you see yourself as a humble leader in what that really looks like, but you need to change the way that you see rich people. I know that's maybe a phrase that you're.
Accustomed to talking about But when I say rich people, I mean, people who are high net worth individuals or folks who can at least give $10,000 or more to your mission, if you believe that you are the only one who will sacrifice at the level that you are supervis. Then you will make sure of that. And you will surround yourself with people who will not sacrifice for the mission.
And you definitely won't invite people to do that because after all, you have to maintain the illusion that you are the one who sacrifices the most. So you will subconsciously work to make that true. And then you will be frustrated that there are not people who give more and here's the invitation friend. You can change the narrative. You can choose to believe that you are surrounded by people who are willing to lay down their lives for this. Who are all in, who are on your team.
And when you start to see them that way, you start to treat them that way. And when we treat people like they're all in and they are a part of the team, guess what happens? That's how they show up. They show up like a part of the team. They rise to the occasion because it's an invitation for them. And, and a lot of people accept the invitation. If you believe that you have cornered the market on caring for your cause, then you will subconsciously or consciously create that reality.
You will make sure that your donors, your board, your volunteers, that they all follow suit with that reality, that you are creating, you have an opportunity to change the way that you see yourself as a humble courageous leader who is willing to take risks. And that you are willing to change the way that you see people who have financial wealth, that they too care deeply about this mission. They are willing to invest. You need to invite them to do that.
And it's just like inviting someone to your kid's birthday party. Just expect them to read your mind, right? No, you send them an invitation that is personalized to them with their first name on it. You give them the details of how they can show up and be a great party guest. You give them advanced notice. You let them know, Hey, you are special in my kid's life. And I want you here do the same thing for your donors.
You invite people to your kid's birthday party because you know, they love your kid. Well, and you want your kid around people who love them. The invitation is for you to do the same for your donors. Invite them, make it personal because it is. And when you see that you are surrounded by people who are willing to sacrifice right alongside you, you will be surrounded by advocates, people who are on your team. You will have people helping you fundraise.
It will change the entire trajectory of your organization. But if you believe you're the only one. That's what you'll get. It'll be you yourself and you, babe, change the way you see yourself and change the way that you see your donors. You will raise exponentially more when you do that. I'll see you next time.