If you’re desperate, I can’t help you raise money.
Nor can anyone else, though some may claim they can.
Desperation drives away philanthropy. It invites alms. “You poor dear, here’s some pocket change.”
Desperation lowers an organization’s standing. Gresham’s Law takes hold. “Don’t throw good money after bad.”
Even if the people or creatures you serve are desperate, you cannot afford to be.
In fact, the more desperate the situation to be addressed, the more leaders must:
- Absorb chaos
- Project calm
- Give hope
Hope draws philanthropy, but it must be legitimate hope to sustain philanthropy. If you do not offer legitimate hope, your situation and that of those you serve will worsen. Desperation is the snake chasing its own tail. Anxiety erodes productivity. It makes us so reactive to the moment that we lose sight of, and wander farther away from, the way out and the way forward. At some point, the distance becomes too great.
If you resort to desperation for fear of rebuke or failure, you have lost the reins of leadership.
Leaders absorb chaos, project calm, give hope.
Mountains of data, and trends they reveal and portend, tell us we are in great and increasingly urgent need of real leaders.
Jim Langley is the president of Langley Innovations. Langley Innovations provides a range of services to its clients to help them understand the cultural underpinnings of philanthropy and the psychology of donors and, with that knowledge, to develop the most effective strategies and tactics to build broader and more lasting communities of support. Jim has authored numerous books, including his most recent book, The Future of Fundraising: Adapting to New Philanthropic Realities, published by Academic Impressions in 2020.
