Comfortable with Vulnerable

Over the course of a typical day fundraisers engage with people via phone, Zoom, email, and in person who would essentially be strangers were it not for the position the fundraisers hold at their organizations.

Engaging with prospects you may not know well can sometimes make even the most seasoned fundraiser feel vulnerable. The fear of rejection that comes with a fundraiser's work is real.

To gather useful information that will help get a yes to your request, it helps to create a sense of ease and comfort around each interaction. One way to do this is to actively listen for subtext under the words your prospect chooses to share so you can identify opportunities to connect in meaningful, authentic ways. This is always a sound approach. It will take your mental focus off you and place it squarely on your prospect where it belongs.

As you are required to put yourself in potentially vulnerability-inducing situations, if you work at it, you can become more comfortable with and in them. The bonus is, when you get more comfortable with the unknown and unpredictable nature these types of interactions can have, an air of confidence carries over into other areas of your work.

A fundraiser who gets comfy and cozy with vulnerability, working with it rather than against it, is a fundraiser who will get more yeses with less stresses.