EFA-logoEFA-logoEFA-logoEFA-logo
  • About us
    • Our board
    • What we do
    • How we work
    • Ethics
    • Our history
    • Privacy Policy
  • Membership
    • Member benefits
    • EFA members
    • EFA associates
    • Join EFA
  • EFA Certification
    • Certification news
    • Why EFA Certification?
    • Standard Competence Framework handbook
    • Advanced Competence Framework handbook
    • EFA qualifications
    • Applying for EFA Certification
    • Certification committee
  • Public Affairs
    • Public Affairs news
  • News
    • Fundraising Europe
    • Latest news
    • Latest features
    • EFA news
    • European Fundraising Podcast
    • Contributor guidelines
    • Advertise with EFA
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • 2022 Nonprofit Pulse survey webinar
    • 2022 EFA Skillshare and AGA
  • Resources
  • About us
    • Our board
    • What we do
    • How we work
    • Ethics
    • Our history
    • Privacy Policy
  • Membership
    • Member benefits
    • EFA members
    • EFA associates
    • Join EFA
  • EFA Certification
    • Certification news
    • Why EFA Certification?
    • Standard Competence Framework handbook
    • Advanced Competence Framework handbook
    • EFA qualifications
    • Applying for EFA Certification
    • Certification committee
  • Public Affairs
    • Public Affairs news
  • News
    • Fundraising Europe
    • Latest news
    • Latest features
    • EFA news
    • European Fundraising Podcast
    • Contributor guidelines
    • Advertise with EFA
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • 2022 Nonprofit Pulse survey webinar
    • 2022 EFA Skillshare and AGA
  • Resources
✕
Bulgarian flag
Bulgarian nonprofits face restrictions to foreign funding under new proposals
August 5, 2020
Money
Coronavirus impact to cost UK charity sector 60,000 jobs
August 27, 2020

Clash of donor-centred & community-centric fundraising philosophies explored in new paper

August 19, 2020
Categories
  • News
  • United Kingdom
Tags
  • Research
Rogare research

The community-centric fundraising movement may be challenging the principles of donor-centred fundraising but these challenges should be accepted and used as a way to reinvent the traditional approach, a new discussion paper from Rogare has put forward.

While donor-centred fundraising aims to inspire donors by making them feel good about their giving, the community-centric movement is grounded in equity and social justice and prioritises the entire community over individual organisations. It associates several negative outcomes with the donor-centric approach, including the marginalisation of ‘others’ and crowding out of the voices of the communities charities claim to serve, the perpetuation of white saviourism and the fuelling of systematic injustice.

A newly published discussion paper by fundraising think tank Rogare, The donor-centred baby and the community-centric bathwater, analyses this ‘clash’ of philosophies and explores whether there is enough common ground between the two philosophies for an accord to be struck. While it concludes that there is, it says it is up to each side whether they wish to compromise to reach a consensus.

It argues that rather than seeing them as a threat, donor-centred fundraisers need to take on board the criticisms levelled at them and use them as an opportunity to “reinvent” their fundraising in ways that connect donors to causes while being ethically conscious of the needs of all stakeholders. 

It puts forward two possible new directions for donor-centred fundraising: integrated or integrative fundraising, and total relationship fundraising.​

The first would integrate donors into beneficiary-focused organisations by connecting beneficiaries with the donors who can help them. This, it argues, could lead to more meaningful relationships with donors.

The second approach, total relationship fundraising, would seek to build relationships with all stakeholders across the community who may be affected by fundraisers’ actions and decisions, and these relationships would be grounded in an ethical consciousness of those stakeholders in terms of their race, their gender, and their economic circumstances.

In the paper, Rogare director Ian MacQuillin, says:

“The clash of community-centric vs donor-centred approaches is not so much a clash of alternative fundraising approaches that can be settled by presenting argument, evidence and theory in support of one or the other, but a clash of ideologies about the purpose of philanthropy, and fundraising’s role within that.”

“However, there is sufficient common ground between the two philosophies to enable a dialectic that could result in new ethical and practical approaches to fundraising. Rather than being an existential challenge to donor-centred fundraising that is sounding its death-knell, community-centric fundraising may actually provide the impetus and incentive for donor-centred fundraising to reinvent itself.”

Commenting on the paper, British fundraising consultant Craig Linton, who is leading a Rogare project to look ‘beyond relationship fundraising’, said:

“Rogare’s green paper provides an essential framework for all fundraisers to critically examine their approach. As the paper shows, there is much common ground between these two views of fundraising. It is up to fundraisers to create an approach to our work that captures the best of both worlds. We all have a duty to raise money in a way that recognises the needs of all stakeholders.”

The paper can be downloaded from the Rogare site.

Share

Related posts

January 18, 2023

Tickets on sale for first International F2F Fundraising Congress


Read more
Cover detail from King Badouin Foundation Associations Barometer 2022
January 18, 2023

Belgian associations concerned about finances in 2023


Read more
A close up of a hand signing a document. By Pixabay on Pexels
January 18, 2023

Legacy pioneer Arjen van Ketel joins Legacy Futures


Read more

Most popular posts

Search news by country or category

Search news by date

Popular topics

  • Research
  • Individual giving
  • Coronavirus
  • Professional development
  • Digital
  • Legacies
  • Philanthropic trends
  • Events
  • Collaboration
  • Tax incentives

Registered Office

James Wattstraat 100
NL-1097 DM Amsterdam
Netherlands

EFA is registered at the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
Reg. No. 34212817

Contact

Executive Officer, Denise Dawes
denise.dawes@efa-net.eu

Media enquiries:
news@efa-net.eu

Follow us

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn

Search

✕
© 2021 EFA | European Fundraising Association. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Read More
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT