Reflections In Motion

Tag: fundraising skills

  • When the Crowd Changes, the Approach Should Too

    When the Crowd Changes, the Approach Should Too

    Why a good fundraiser can thrive in one mall and struggle in another

    You can be a great fundraiser in one mall and struggle in another. Same fundraiser. Same cause. Same pitch. Completely different result.

    If you’ve worked in face-to-face fundraising long enough, you’ve probably experienced it. At one location, people stop easily, conversations flow, and you find your rhythm. Then you move to another mall and suddenly it feels as though you’re invisible. People rush past, some avoid eye contact and others say no before you’ve even finished saying hello.

    After a while, you start wondering: Have I suddenly forgotten how to fundraise?

    Maybe not.

    Maybe the crowd changed.

    Every Mall Has Its Own Rhythm

    We often talk about “the public” as though we’re approaching the same audience everywhere. We’re not. A mall filled with office workers during lunch behaves differently from one filled with families spending a Saturday afternoon shopping. A commuter crowd moves differently from a browsing crowd. Even the same mall can change throughout the day.

    The fundraiser who understands this stops simply labelling a location difficult and starts observing it. Are people rushing? Are they willing to make eye contact but reluctant to stop? Are they stopping but leaving conversations quickly? Is everyone on the team struggling, or has one fundraiser found a way through?

    Those details matter because sometimes the problem isn’t necessarily the fundraiser or the pitch. It is the way the approach fits—or doesn’t fit—the crowd in front of them.

    Read Before You React

    A difficult crowd can tempt you to push harder: talk louder, approach more aggressively or desperately try to make somebody stop. But sometimes a resistant crowd doesn’t need more from you. It needs different.

    A fast-moving crowd may need a shorter opening. A relaxed crowd may give you more room for conversation. A crowd tired of being approached by promoters may respond better to something natural rather than something that immediately sounds like another sales pitch.

    The cause hasn’t changed. Your integrity shouldn’t change. But your approach can.

    Adaptability isn’t about becoming a different fundraiser every time you change locations. It is about understanding that good communication responds to the person and environment in front of you.

    Sometimes the Best Lesson Is Standing Next to You

    If most of the team is struggling but one fundraiser keeps getting conversations, don’t only look at their numbers. Watch them. Who are they approaching? Where are they standing? How are they opening? What are they doing that the crowd seems to respond to?

    This is where teams can learn from one another. Instead of always asking, “How many did you get?” perhaps another useful question is:

    “What are you noticing about this crowd?”

    That question shifts the conversation from performance alone to understanding what is actually happening on the floor.

    It can also help team leaders coach more effectively. If everybody is struggling, repeatedly correcting individual fundraisers may miss the bigger picture. If one person is succeeding while everyone else struggles, there may be something worth observing and sharing.

    And Sometimes, It Really Is a Difficult Crowd

    Not every slow day is a coaching problem, and not every struggling fundraiser needs their pitch corrected. Sometimes foot traffic is poor. Sometimes people are rushing. Sometimes the position isn’t working. Sometimes the crowd simply isn’t responding.

    Good leadership means looking at both the fundraiser and the environment before deciding what needs fixing.

    That distinction matters because constantly treating environmental problems as individual performance problems can damage confidence without solving anything. At the same time, blaming the crowd for everything can prevent fundraisers from recognising where they genuinely need to adapt.

    Experience teaches you to look at both.

    Beyond the Pitch

    One difficult mall doesn’t erase your ability, but it may expose something you still need to learn.

    Face-to-face fundraising isn’t only about memorising the right words. It is about reading people, movement and energy. It is knowing when to engage, when to adjust and when to let someone walk.

    The script gives you a foundation.

    Experience teaches you what to do when the environment doesn’t behave the way the script expected.

    Because eventually you learn something the script cannot teach on its own:

    A good fundraiser learns the pitch. An experienced fundraiser learns the crowd.

    Reflections In Motion — Ideas • Insight • Impact

    Continue the Conversation

    Have you ever performed well at one fundraising location and struggled at another? What differences have you noticed between the crowds you encounter?

    Share your experience in the comments.

    Want to Go Further?

    Beyond the Pitch: The Art of Face-to-Face Fundraising explores the realities behind donor conversations, fundraiser development and the work that happens beyond simply delivering the pitch.

    Explore Beyond the Pitch and my other resources →
    https://reflectionsinmotion.blog/shop/

    Work With Me

    I work with fundraising teams and organisations around face-to-face fundraising, fundraiser development, team coaching, communication and leadership.

    📧 lelon@reflectionsinmotion.blog
    🌐 https://reflectionsinmotion.blog

  • When Fundraising Becomes More Than a Job: The Identity of the Fundraiser

    When Fundraising Becomes More Than a Job: The Identity of the Fundraiser

    You start fundraising because you need a job.

    Maybe you need an income. Maybe you’re between opportunities. Maybe someone told you about an opening and you thought, Why not?

    You put on the branded shirt, learn the organisation’s story and head into the field.

    Then you approach your first stranger.

    They say no.

    Then another person says no. And another.

    At first, rejection feels personal. You wonder whether you’re doing something wrong. You question whether you’re confident enough or whether you’re even suited to the job.

    But eventually, something changes.

    You approach the next person. Then the next.

    You learn that a “no” doesn’t have to stop you. You learn to smile and move on. You learn to start conversations with people you’ve never met, read body language and listen carefully.

    And without necessarily realising it, you start becoming a different person.

    Fundraising Teaches You to Speak to Strangers

    Most people aren’t naturally comfortable approaching strangers. We tend to stay within familiar circles—friends, family and colleagues.

    Face-to-face fundraising removes that comfort zone.

    You have to walk up to someone you’ve never met and create enough connection for them to stop and listen. That takes courage.

    Over time, the stranger who once intimidated you becomes simply another person you can have a conversation with.

    And that confidence doesn’t necessarily disappear when you leave the fundraising environment.

    You take it with you.

    You Learn That Rejection Isn’t Always About You

    This may be one of the most valuable lessons fundraising teaches.

    Someone can listen to your entire pitch and still say no. And sometimes, there is absolutely nothing wrong with your pitch.

    They may not have the money. They may already support another organisation. They may be rushing. They may simply not be interested.

    Learning to understand that distinction is powerful.

    Once you stop interpreting every rejection as a judgement of your worth, you become more resilient. And that lesson applies far beyond fundraising—to job interviews, business proposals, relationships, entrepreneurship and everyday life.

    Not every “no” means you failed.

    Sometimes it simply means: not this person, not this time.

    You Become Better at Reading People

    Fundraising teaches you to pay attention.

    You begin noticing who is rushing and who has time. Who wants more information and who wants a quick conversation. Who is curious, who is sceptical and who needs more explanation.

    You learn that communication isn’t simply about what you say. It’s also about what the other person is showing you.

    That is emotional intelligence.

    And it is a valuable skill in almost every profession.

    You Learn the Difference Between Persuasion and Pressure

    A good fundraiser eventually discovers that you cannot force someone to care.

    You can explain the cause. You can tell the story. You can answer questions and invite someone to become involved.

    But the decision ultimately belongs to them.

    That teaches an important lesson about influence.

    Real persuasion isn’t about talking someone into something they don’t want. It is about understanding what matters to them and communicating your message honestly.

    That skill can be transferred into sales, marketing, communications, management and business.

    You Develop Resilience Without Realising It

    There are difficult days in fundraising.

    Days when the numbers don’t move. Days when people don’t stop. Days when you question whether you’re making any difference.

    And then you come back the next day.

    You try again.

    You learn something.

    You improve.

    That repeated cycle builds resilience.

    Not the kind of resilience that means pretending everything is fine, but the ability to experience disappointment without allowing it to permanently define your behaviour.

    You learn to recover.

    And recovery is a skill.

    You May Discover a Leader Inside Yourself

    Something else can happen to experienced fundraisers.

    They begin helping others.

    A new fundraiser struggles with their opening, so you show them how you approach people. Someone has a terrible day, so you encourage them. A colleague asks how you consistently get people to stop, and you share what you’ve learned.

    Without realising it, you are coaching.

    You are leading.

    And sometimes that becomes the beginning of a new career path.

    Fundraising can become the place where someone discovers that they aren’t only good at raising funds.

    They’re good at developing people.

    But We Don’t Always Recognise These Skills

    This is where the fundraising profession has an opportunity to do better.

    A fundraiser may leave face-to-face fundraising after two or three years and apply for a completely different position.

    Perhaps the new employer simply sees:

    “Fundraiser.”

    But behind that job title is someone who has developed communication, persuasion, resilience, public engagement, relationship-building, target management and problem-solving skills.

    Those skills have value.

    The challenge is learning how to recognise them—and communicate them.

    Fundraisers need to understand that their experience is not disposable.

    It is part of their professional development.

    Fundraising Can Be a Chapter, Not a Dead End

    Not everyone will spend their entire career in face-to-face fundraising.

    And that’s okay.

    Some people will move into management. Others will move into sales, marketing, communications, customer experience or nonprofit management. Some will start businesses. Others may discover an entirely different career path.

    But leaving fundraising doesn’t mean the experience was wasted.

    You take the confidence with you.

    You take the ability to communicate, the resilience, the understanding of people and the experience of standing in public spaces trying to convince a complete stranger that something matters.

    Those experiences become part of who you are professionally.

    The Identity We Give Fundraisers Matters

    Perhaps we need to stop describing fundraising only as something people do.

    We should also talk about what fundraising helps people become.

    A fundraiser can become a better communicator. A stronger listener. A more confident speaker. A more resilient professional. A better leader.

    And sometimes, a person who discovers possibilities they didn’t know existed.

    That is bigger than a daily target.

    Final Thoughts

    Maybe you started fundraising because you needed a job.

    There is nothing wrong with that.

    But perhaps the job gave you something you didn’t expect.

    It taught you how to approach people, handle rejection, communicate, listen, persuade without forcing and keep going after difficult days.

    And perhaps, somewhere along the way, you discovered that you were capable of more than you thought.

    That is the hidden value of face-to-face fundraising.

    The organisation receives donations. The cause receives support. But the fundraiser can also walk away with something that cannot be measured on a campaign report:

    a stronger sense of who they are and what they are capable of becoming.

    Maybe that’s why fundraising is more than a job.

    It can be a school for life.

    Beyond the Pitch

    Face-to-face fundraising is about more than asking for donations.

    It’s about communication, resilience, leadership, relationships and the people behind every conversation.

    Through Beyond the Pitch, I share practical lessons and honest reflections from the fundraising field—looking beyond the numbers to the people, skills and experiences that make fundraising possible.

    Continue the Conversation

    If you’ve worked in face-to-face fundraising, I’d love to hear from you:

    What has fundraising taught you about yourself that you didn’t know when you started?

    Share your experience in the comments.

    If you enjoy practical insights and honest reflections about face-to-face fundraising, leadership and professional development, follow Reflections in Motion for more from Beyond the Pitch.

    📘 Want to go further?

    My book, Beyond the Pitch: The Art of Face-to-Face Fundraising, explores the communication, psychology and human connection behind successful fundraising.

    Explore my books on Amazon:
    Kgalalelo Ntumelang – Amazon Author Page

    Work With Me

    If your organisation or fundraising team needs support with fundraising communication, team development, coaching or practical fundraising insights, I’d love to hear from you.

    Email: lelon@reflectionsinmotion.blog

    Website: Reflections in Motion