By Kathleen Provost
As a professional fundraiser I am struggling to determine my role in the next iteration of philanthropy, to reflect our current reality. Over the last few years I have been researching and reporting back on our ever-evolving sector as it transforms post pandemic. I was inspired by Ezra Greenberg, Asutosh Padhi, and Sven Smit who co-articled, “2024 and beyond will it be economic stagnation or the advent of productivity driven abundance”, in the January Mckinsey & Co. magazine. In an attempt to present a productivity model for businesses they wrote:
“The consensus expectation is for growth to revert to pre-COVID-19 trends, but this is by no means preordained. We see plausible scenarios in which growth is well above or well below historical levels.”
So, as I consider my everyday planning, I must ask, how do I define “growth”? Must the charitable sector revert to past events, fundraising plans, or campaigns expecting pre-pandemic results? Or given the current state of our society must we plan to expect different results and different outcomes in our fundraising strategies. To help explore this conundrum I want to look at a reoccurring pattern we find in our society, with our donors, and in the charitable sector.
Consider the state of society
A recent analysis of Gallup data by Harvard Business School’s Ashley Whillans found that the percentage of employed Americans reporting that they “never had enough time” rose from 70 percent in 2011 to 80 percent in 2018. I have personally seen and experienced the ailment of “busyness” from a number of individuals. Whether it is a colleague, a business owner, a donor I meet, a teacher at my children’s school, or a clerk at the grocery store. We have all experienced it. Today we must go faster, move beyond, and work more. Why is this?
Social scientists who have termed busyness as “time poverty” state that busyness is on rise. Columbia marketing professor Silvia Bellezza’s research shows that people perceive others who are busy —to be important and impressive. Psychologist Jared Celniker found that across the United States, France, and South Korea, people consider those who exert high effort to be “morally admirable,” regardless of their output. And sociologist Jonathan Gershuny notes, “Work, not leisure, is now the signifier of dominant social status.”
In the Harvard Business Review, Adam Waytz stated: “put simply, ‘busyness’ has become a status symbol.” Our reality is that individuals, businesses, and organizations all seem to be part of this widespread obsession and destructive pattern of busyness.
Some individuals have come to revere busyness. Meaning the more demanding the effort is, the more commitment people feel. Others choose to do something that keeps them busy rather than wait idly for 15 minutes, labelled by some as “idleness aversion”. Lydia Phillip, Communications Manager at Impact Organizations of Nova Scotia claims that an urgency culture is limiting our ability to challenge the status quo because we are just trying to keep our heads above water.
Can we reverse this obsession with “busyness”? Maybe we cannot force people off the clock, but as professionals, we need to model the right behavior and continuously assess whether our organization is generating meaningful work and eliminating low-value work.
Consider the state of mind of the donor
Another consideration with the “urgency” of doing things is the relationship you build with a key donor. According to Richard Radcliffe, Founder of Radcliffe Consulting, a legacy gift to a charity is an increasingly common act of engagement, relevance, trust, and confidence. In his January 2024, Hilborn Charity enews article titled: “Thank You and Goodbye”, Radcliffe states this boldly. “Marriage is not always forever. Nor are legacies. Today’s intelligent donor prospects are marketing-savvy people who will investigate you to ensure their legacy to you is a good investment. They need to be respected as equals”.
It is not a case for support that makes a good appeal, it is not the name of the volunteer soliciting, or the story of a student that allures the donors. Today, as fundraisers, we are entering in a partnership with our donors, in a long-term commitment that is just like a marriage; build on trust and affinities. However, the current sense of urgency we are all experiencing may also give rise to paternalism. In her article titled: “Resisting a rest: How Urgency Culture Policies Work”, Lydia Phillip states that our sense of urgency at times can influence the power dynamic by which funders who have economic power may have vastly different lived experiences and priorities than the communities they intend to serve. Similarly, a factor in the relational exchange called the “promise of next time” gives an urgency culture permission to impose choices and leave no room for inclusion. Decisions are made unilaterally at the top without the consent, advice, and buy-in of the communities they are intended for.
Given we aspire to have a long-term relationship with our donors, maybe we need to slow down as we establish this long-term commitment. We need to define the terms of our “marriage with each donor”. As Radcliffe put it: “For a donor, a whiff or sniff of doubt in the wisdom of leaving a legacy to your charity and out you go.”
Consider the state of the sector
“The near-continuous pace of crises makes it even more challenging for organisations to navigate our charitable sector,” said Sally Llewellyn, Global Security Director at International SOS. “Organisations will have many risks to address in 2024, as instability continues to be a key theme.”
Other issues arising in our sector include: running on empty, climate crisis (such as extreme weather event), global instability, and social unrest. We have become “shapeshifters”, pulled in many directions. We’re in a constant state of overlapping tasks and competing priorities as we push one thing out the door to immediately leap into the next. This constant reactive state is overwhelming, leading to mental exhaustion and decision-fatigue. HRD Magazine’s Sara Dobson wrote: “burn-out will significantly impact our sector in the coming year.” Yet according to International SOS Risk Outlook 2024 Report, only, 41 percent of surveyed professionals responded that they feel their organizations are equipped to deal with this mental health challenge.
This urgency culture may privilege organizations with greater resources and capacity to act. Yet, we know that many organizations are underfunded, stretched thin, and lacking resources. Thinking about the traditional funding system: tight deadlines, strenuous applications, stringent reporting – the organizations that are greater resourced have an advantage in securing funds and additional opportunities.
Annika Voltan proposes a few ideas to resist an urgency culture. She suggests we take a pause when we start to feel the pressure of the day and challenge our own deadlines and expectations. As leaders we must be willing to slow down and we need to stop glorifying “busyness”. We ought to re-redefine productivity to include spaciousness, rest, and reflection, in an effort to avoid rushed decisions. If only it was that easy!
My final thoughts
According to Tricia Hershey of the Nap Ministry, “rest is revolutionary” and is one of the most powerful explanations to restructure how we work together toward peer support and accountability. Given we have all experienced crisis management teams that have been running consistently over the last years, maybe we are at a critical junction. Should we stop running? If we only work harder, if we put in more time, or if we strive for more, who benefits?
This “busyness” only results in our lack to imagine, ideate, and create. The way forward is to consciously choose ourselves and our community. Imagine if what is deeply engrained, as a constant state of “busyness” is keeping us from choosing our humanity? Lydia Phillip was very honest when she started writing her latest blog saying:
“Full disclosure: this article was later getting finished. The stress had been building from the pressure I was putting on myself to complete my draft while also being on the road this past month facilitating our storytelling workshops across the province…”
Since this urgency culture dependents on a belief that our work defines us, then rest is resistance, and slowing down is truly a radical practice.
Kathleen A. Provost is currently the Vice President, Philanthropy and Communications at United for Literacy (previously Frontier College), a national organization with 125 years of community partnerships in Canada, offering free tutoring and mentoring to adult, youth, and children who need literacy and numeracy support. Kathleen has over 30 years of experience in the charitable sector. She has been a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) since 2007 and a long-time member and volunteer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Kathleen holds a Masters degree in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University as well as a Baccalaureate Arts in Political Science and a certificate in Public Relations from McGill University. As a recognized leader, Kathleen has tailored presentations for French and English audiences at various events including AFP-Nova Scotia, AFP-Ottawa, AFP-National Congress, Coady Institute and the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education. She has received numerous recognitions during her career, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her contributions to the charitable sector and was recognized as 2021 Fundraiser of the Year in Nova Scotia. She writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.
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