Trauma-Informed Fundraising - Understanding your role and the donors.
I am delighted to announce that, along with Lisa Temoshok LMHC, I will be presenting a session at AFP ICON 2023 in New Orleans. Lisa specializes in strength-based, holistic counseling for adults, including EMDR. Somatic Psychotherapy, Internal Family Services, Mindfullness-based CBT, and other trauma-informed therapies. Our session is entitled "Trauma-Informed Fundraising - Understanding your role and the donors."
A little background: the word trauma is Greek (τραύμα) and in Greek means "wound." Trauma is a response, either emotional and/or physical, that happens when there is an external threat and your internal and external resources are inadequate to cope with the threat
Natural disasters or physical assaults can activate an acute traumatic event. Chronic traumatic situations like domestic abuse, housing, or food insecurity can also cause trauma. These are the most dramatic causes of trauma, but there are seemingly "everyday" situations that can cause trauma. One may experience trauma at any point in their life. As fundraisers, we know this well.
Our session will look at some of the situations we find ourselves in as fundraisers and what effect they may be having on our lives and examine ways to understand, talk about and hopefully deal with trauma.
AFP will announce the date and time of our session in late February. I will let you know as soon as it is. I look forward to seeing you there.
Trauma In and Through Fundraising - a conversation begins.
I have been thinking about trauma and fundraising. Perhaps it's more accurate to say that I've been thinking about trauma. I hear the word "trauma" far more frequently in many more circumstances than ever before, and I wonder about utilizing a trauma-informed approach to fundraising. Bessel van der Kolk, author of "The Body Keeps the Score" writes that trauma is "an event that overwhelms the central nervous system, altering how we process and recall memories…Trauma is not the story of something that happened back then; it is the current imprint of that pain, horror, and fear living inside people."
There is increasing consideration regarding how we, as fundraisers, have the opportunity and respond to individuals' life experiences by listening and writing about their lives from a compassionate, trauma-informed perspective, having always gotten their permission to share that story. The reality is that everyone has a level of trauma in their lives. It could be in childhood, adulthood, or even vicarious- as experienced by others. One reference made the point that no matter how or when a person experiences trauma, co-founder of The Sanctuary Model, Joseph Foderaro, stated, "It's not 'What's wrong with you?' but 'What happened to you?'"
So what about fundraisers? We are just people who have our own past experiences, present-day concerns, and hopes for the future. Perhaps our fundraising mantra ("every NO is actually a MAYBE") may not be trauma-informed and may even trigger intrusive memories and reactivity in ourselves and others. If we never accept "no," we continually set ourselves for disappointment. Because no matter how much we claim that we don't take "no" personally, we do, even if for a moment, and that could trigger the trauma we carry.
And the donors? Sure, we know a lot about their monetary value and may know some things about their political and ethical mindset. But what do we really know about their authentic lives? How they grew up? How do they live now? What it took to get to where they would appear on our prospect list? Sure, The trauma is sometimes public, and you can google your way into the worst moments of an individual's life. But how does that individual relate to that experience now? ? Not how they appeared to deal with the experience on PAGE SIX, but how they relate to the experience in the present moment. Perhaps that experience motivates them to share their story and contribute to an organization. What trauma have they faced, and how does it affect their lives, especially their relationship with wealth. Traumatic experiences may inform how donors relate to and decide how to use their wealth.
I am not suggesting that we as fundraisers act as a therapist or that we should ask prospects, donors, and Board members to share their traumatic experiences with us, or that we should make assumptions and label an individual's personal experience as trauma. But, first, We do need to reflect on we need to look hard at why we are fundraisers, our relationship with money, and how we understand our place within our organization. For example, have you ever been told that payroll won't be covered unless you raise more money by a specific date? How did you respond? How do you respond now, reading the question? Perhaps you felt a physical reaction. Paying compassionate attention to our physical sensations is the foundation of trauma-informed fundraising. Now, start to talk about trauma.
I want to thank Lisa Temoshok, LMHC, for her invaluable assistance in this blog post. www.lisatemshok.com
October 9, 2023
I have yet to see the movie "Uncharitable,", but I did read the book and see the TEDTalk that Dan Pallotta did. I was taken by many of his ideas and suggestions for and about the non-profit sector. What do others think, and if the movie will somehow affect change in the field - for better or worse? If you still need to see the promo for the film, this is a link. https://uncharitablemovie.com/ |
August 18 2023
There is nothing more I can say. The title says it all, except though Black women face this more. I think all People of Color are accused of yelling when we are happy, excited, empathic, or simply right. What do you think?
August 25, 2022
Quitting Quietly-
I am fascinated by this concept, this movement. I always figured that once you got a job, you did your best at the job, maybe you learned some new stuff and used that to, at some point, move to a higher position. If you are "quietly quitting," are you doing your best at your job? Isn't that our part of the hiring bargain? This NYTimes article examines many of the issues surrounding this movement. What do you think? Click the photo below to read the article.
Please leave a comment thoughtfully.