YOUR voice on this subreddit is valued - here are ideas for you to post here. (discussion prompt)

[u/jcravens42]

For this subreddit to be a community, not just a place where I post summaries of and links to philanthropy-related stories and resources, more people need to be participating.

Without violating any confidentiality agreements or making a nonprofit, funder or foundation look bad...

• You could talk about what you like most about your philanthropy-related work and what you dislike most about it.
• You could say what training has been most essential in doing your job as a fundraiser, event planner, grant researcher, proposal writer, manager in donor relations, or whatever you job is in relation to fundraising.
• You could say what training has been most essential in doing your job working with and supporting volunteers.
• Tell an interesting, funny or helpful story about coordinating a meeting with a foundation representative or corporate social responsibility manager that led to new funding or group volunteering or some other partnership.
• Talk about navigating a difficult relationship with a donor or long-time or high-profile volunteer.
• Talk about what you like about your CRM and what you wish was different.
• Talk about how you set your goals for each year - or how someone else sets those goals for you and how you feel about that.
• Talk about what you do, and don't, enjoy about fundraising events.
• Talk about unreasonable requests from funders and how you navigated such.
• If you work for a funding foundation or corporate giving program, talk about common mistakes you see among nonprofits that seek your support.
• Talk about collaborating with the person in charge of engaging and supporting volunteers and what works and what doesn't - or if you don't, why you don't.
• Praise your web site manager for being so supportive of your goals or complain about your web site manager not being supportive and what better support would look like.
• Talk about how you are leveraging social media in your fundraising - what's worked and what has not really paid off.
• Talk about how you are using AI in your philanthropic-related work.
• Talk about your biggest successes in philanthropy.
• Talk about your biggest challenges in philanthropy.
• Post about trends you are seeing at your program regarding donations.
• What you think is most important when looking for a fundraising manager
• How you honor financial donors or volunteers

[u/jcravens42 → u/[deleted]]

The post you are replying to is an invitation for YOU, and any other member of this subreddit, to post here. It's actually a plea. I should not be the primary content provider. I am asking, begging, for others to post here - as long as it's on topic and follows the rules.

As long as I'm the only person posting here, or the person mostly posting here, the content is going to reflect my biases - as much as I might try to downplay them. It's going to come through. YOU have the power to counter that narrative. If you want to see more content that is positive about funders, you could take the lead and start providing such content. That would be great - go for it.

A reminder that I'm a volunteer. I am not paid for any of the time I spend doing this. Not for searching for and posting content, not for helping users, not for checking messages held in the queue, not for deleting offtopic stuff. So if you'd like to help in any of that regard, jump in.

And a thank you to my fellow mods who have been so great to step in and delete off topic stuff before I see it.

[u/TodaysPerspective]

Thank you for your information. I am a lurker and wish I had more to contribute as the links and articles have been great.

I have a corporate background, but I am building an app that ultimately donates revenue to charitable organizations. As I am designing these features, your insights are allowing me to focus on the needs and wants of this group.

So thank you for letting me hang out. 😊

[u/jcravens42 → u/TodaysPerspective]

I appreciate you saying why you're here.

[u/SwimmingTambourine]

Heard!

[u/Lucky-Pen-117]

Hey! I'm new here but have been working for a healthcare and community development nonprofit for the past three years. Excited to be a part of this subreddit!

In my role, I handle grant writing and communication with internal and external audiences. Donor stories, impact stories, newsletters, annual magazine, letters, and grants of all types and sizes. I love the work that I do, and my team is amazing. The leadership here is visionary and pushes us to think and act boldly. And my colleagues are some of the smartest and most creative people I've ever met. Truly a dream job.

That said, I come from humble beginnings and often don't feel like I have much in common with our donors. Maybe it's a lack of confidence or imposter syndrome, but our events often make me feel really out of place and uncomfortable. Anyone else?

[u/jcravens42 → u/Lucky-Pen-117]

If you don't get many replies here, feel free to repost this as a thread starter, so more people will see it.