Overview
Fundraising and organizing go hand in hand. Just as there are people organizing themselves to take courageous acts of defiance, right next to them are people organizing resources to support those campaigns. Most times, the same organizers leading campaigns are the ones doing the fundraising, without fundraising training. Fundraising is seen as a necessary evil, but this is in part, due to the relationship we have with money and money with the violence of capitalism. Yet fundraising, if it is practiced within a framework of liberation, can ground us in community and sustain our movements for the long-haul.
re:power’s Grassroots Fundraising is a 4-session course curated to teach organizers the fundamentals of building fundraising campaigns. Participants will learn the skills necessary to recruit donors, maintain and develop donor relationships, and launch a fundraising campaign.
Who is this course for?
- Folks tasked with raising funds for small and medium sized grassroots organizations, full time, part time, or part of their role’s responsibilities.
- Folks who want to develop and deepen their organization’s relationship with grassroots donors to build more sustainable organizations.
- Folks who want to develop grassroots fundraising skills to explore new career paths.
- Folks who would like to hone any of the skills listed above
Ideal applicants come from all walks of life, though we are especially focusing on beginners who are passionate about their organizations and want to start their learning journey. Here are some attributes shared by all our applicants:
Relational & people-focused: Ideal participants are excited to build relationships, to invest in the leadership of others, and to continue telling stories to bring people together and move them towards action.
Organizing Insight: You don’t need to be a professional fundraiser, but we’re looking for applicants with experience doing grassroots work. We seek to support fundraisers who are currently part of an organization or seeking to build one..
Dedication to Inclusive Politics and Intersectional Solutions: At re:power, we center race, class, gender and sexuality across all our trainings — it’s part of our practice of inclusive politics. We want organizers to be open to new ideas regarding it and to the ideas and contributions from their fellow organizers who will reflect our diverse communities.
Course Expectations
This is an interactive course. We ask participants to write in the chat box, share verbally, and participate in breakout group discussion. We understand that folks have a lot going on though, so if you are not able to participate in a breakout discussion you can let the tech moderator know. We encourage, but do not require, participants to turn on video during breakout discussions.
Lesson Plan
Session 1: Evaluate the Soil
The first session of this fundraising series will be about identifying the feelings that arise while fundraising and exploring the role that class and money play in our fundraising journey.
Session 2: Planting the Seeds
In this session, participants will be equipped with the fundraising basics of “making the ask”, such as who to ask and how to ask for a gift. Participants will have the opportunity to practice making fundraising asks with each other.
Session 3: Watering Your Flowers
This third session follows the path after receiving your first gift. Participants will discuss best practices to cultivate and engage donors.
Session 4: A Strong Flower Bed
The last session of this series is a workshop on creating a strong fundraising plan. Participants will put together the skills they learned during the first three sessions and draft a fundraising plan.
Questions? Please contact us at grassroots@repower.org
