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A Fresh Approach to Nonprofit Fundraising Are you a "nonprofit"? Do you "fundraise"?   Have you ever thought of what these terms really mean?   Do you really want to define yourself using a name of something you're not?   You don't call yourself a non-animal?  Or do you?   You don't call a lake 'non-land,' right? If you work at or run a nonprofit, what you are a part of is something special, and so much more than the opposite of a for-profit entity.  A for-profit corporation is a tax and legal structure that is purposed primarily with increasing net earnings and maximizing 'shareholder value'.  Ask yourself: is your identity as a nonprofit best described with the terms 'non-profitability' and 'non-maximization-of-shareholder-value'?  Nonprofit organizations across the world have, without realizing it, inherited a loosely-defined identity.  Clearly, the word 'nonprofit' fails to encapsulate the meaning that comes to mind when we when think of that word.  What message are we sending to our trustees and donors when they are the targets of our 'fund'-raising?  What types of organizational decay arise when administrative staff over-rely on such terms as capacity, bottom line, funds, giving, etc... ?    Nonprofits everywhere have unknowingly begun to 'act' like corporations themselves: they are more concerned with raising money than their organizational mission and purpose.   This mindset has adversely impacted how nonprofit staffers think about their fundraising, communications and other duties: it has become all about the money.  We need to ask ourselves: Do we only want funds from donors?  Or more than funds?  Why aren't we seeking stakeholders that represent the mission that we ourselves encompass?    We need to go back to the drawing board and rethink how we have defined ourselves and how that has led to problems that exist in our organizations, communities and nation.  Seeing the forest for the trees  First thing, we need to do away with the term 'non-profit.' Instead, we must strive for a new word - a better word for a better world.  How about a community resource organization or CRO. Instead of 'fundraising', we need to strive for a broader term to encompass all forms of support, not just money. (Because the best fundraisers really raise much more than just money) . We should call it resource-raising.  But re-establishing terminology is just the beginning. Next, we should take a look at the mission and purpose of our organizations and really ask if we are representing them (our mission and purpose) in all of the expressions of our organization.  There are many exciting ways to identify new donors of all types of resources.  Imagine all of the other resources that donors can bring to the table other than money: connections, ideas, professional skills, motivation, volunteerism, etc... As many ways you want to thrive as an organization, there are people out there that want to help.  Andrew Kishner, founder of ASK Consulting, has worked in prospect research since 2001 and has worked as an advancement research staff member or as a freelance researcher for both regional and national nonprofit organizations and fundraising consulting firms. Andrew can be contacted via email here