Thread by @paulkairos

This may be an unpopular opinion (so be kind!) but I've been reflecting lately on the beast that is #Fundraising Ego.

I often see fundraisers in our sector talking about how they've raised £****M and it's causes me to question - have you though?

Here's a little #MondayMusing 🧵

Have you raised this money or have you had the privilege of helping generous people give their money?

Have you raised this money or have you experienced the joy of supporting and cheerleading inspiring fundraisers as they complete challenges and awesome endeavours?

Sure, you've presented, pitched and won partnerships, but it was the company, together with their employees and customers who gave, fundraised or offered products with a donation from each sale

You've presented a great Case for Support, you've crafted powerful narratives and woven together stories that speak of the impact of your charity and its work - but it was the individual who responded and chose to leave a gift in their will or sign up to that monthly DD

Don't get me wrong - I believe fundraisers are incredible and there is a lot more we can do in the charity sector to celebrate our successes and the lives that can be transformed as a result of our work. But we can do this with much less gratuitous self-congratualtion.

To say 'I have raised £***M' speaks of a silo built of pride and selfish ambition - it takes a team to raise funds - and not just a fundraising team. We need to champion fundraising, not make it an exclusive bastion of gurus

I'd love us to ditch the fundraising ego and put the power (and the credit) back in to the hands of the awesome people we get to work with as fundraisers.

We connect people to great causes - the most authentic connections take place if we don't get in the way!

I wonder if we could address fundraiser recruitment issues if we starting inviting people to choose a career in which they had the joy of helping people give and fundraise rather than describing a seemingly personal challenge to raise £***M.

I love fundraisers!

I love fundraising!

I dislike fundraiser ego that shouts over, crowds out and in so doing, diminishes the real beauty and impact of our work.