What do you do if your team is not engaged in fundraising efforts?

• Assess team's motivation to address disengagement issues. • Conduct open discussions to gather insights on concerns or lack of interest. • Root causes may include unclear goals, disconnection from the cause, or unrecognized impact. • Pinpointing motivational barriers allows you to address them directly. • Ensure every team member feels valued and understands their role's significance. • Foster an environment of transparency and open communication. • Align individual motivations with the overarching fundraising mission. • Celebrate small wins and milestones to boost morale and engagement. • Provide regular feedback and opportunities for growth. • Encourage input and collaborative problem-solving.

To tackle the problem of disengagement, start by assessing your team's motivation. Understanding why your team is not engaged is crucial to finding a solution. Have open discussions to gather insights into their concerns or lack of interest. It could be due to unclear goals, feeling disconnected from the cause, or not recognizing the impact of their contributions. Once you pinpoint the root causes, you can address them directly, ensuring that every team member feels valued and understands the significance of their role in the fundraising process.

Two key things to look out for as you assess the team´s disengagement in your fundraising efforts, as these are the most common reasons I have seen: 1. The team doesn´t believe they will be of much help. (Maybe because they don´t have a large or deep-pocketed personal network or they have never been supported to fundraise effectively.) 2. The issue is actually a deeper organizational issue. (If staff are generally unhappy in their jobs or their end-of-year bonus was canceled because the organization is facing budget challenges, they will not be motivated to fundraise for the organization, no matter what strategies you use. You will need to address those deeper organizational issues first.)

• Set clear, achievable goals to combat team disengagement. • Outline specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. • Provide direction, purpose, and a roadmap for fundraising efforts. • Break down larger objectives into smaller, manageable tasks. • Help team visualize progress and stay motivated toward the end goal. • Involve team in goal-setting process for buy-in and accountability. • Align individual goals with overarching fundraising mission. • Regularly review and adjust goals as needed for sustained engagement. • Celebrate goal achievements to boost morale and recognize efforts. • Clear goals foster a sense of purpose and ownership.

Establishing clear and attainable objectives is vital for reigniting enthusiasm within a disengaged fundraising team. Utilize SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—to offer guidance and inspiration. By breaking down overarching targets into manageable steps, team members can track progress and feel a sense of significance in their contributions.

Boost team engagement by providing essential training and resources, fostering confidence and ownership in fundraising roles.

Implementing a rewards system can boost engagement in fundraising efforts. Recognizing team members' hard work through public acknowledgment or additional perks fosters a sense of value and encourages continued dedication.

If engagement remains a challenge, reassess and adjust your fundraising strategy as needed. Stay open to new ideas, whether it's exploring different platforms or seeking input from your team. Adapting your approach demonstrates a commitment to making fundraising rewarding for everyone involved.

From everything I'm hearing and reading, lack of engagement / burnout of fundraising staff is on the rise, and much of it stems from nonprofit leaders lack of understanding of what it takes to build successful donor partnerships, and putting pressure on fundraisers to sacrifice long-term approaches to achieve short-term gains. This disconnect causes fundraising staff to lose sight of the purpose they originally had when joining the nonprofit. This not only impacts staff, but the donors can feel it as well. Helping your fundraising team focus on true partnership building activities with potential donors, instead of chasing dollars, will solve many of these issues (and provide better long-term results).