Major Gifts & Community-Centric Fundraising Principles with Sarah Staiger

Is your major gifts fundraising strategy aligned with your core values? In this insightful conversation, host Maria Rio is joined by Sarah Staiger. Together, they explore the intimidating (but rewarding!) world of major gifts and the transformative power of community-centric fundraising (CCF) while also discussing actionable strategies for small nonprofits to align their values with their fundraising practices.

Major Gifts & Community-Centric Fundraising - the highlights:

• What is Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF)? Sarah explains how CCF prioritizes values, community accountability, and systemic change over traditional donor-centric models.
• Values-Based Major Gifts Strategy: Learn how to incorporate values-based qualifiers into your donor portfolios, making donor engagement more aligned with your mission and community.
• Engaging Your Board in CCF Practices: Sarah shares practical tips for training predominantly white boards to adopt CCF principles and foster long-term cultural change within nonprofits.
• The Role of Transparency in Fundraising: How being honest about deficits, challenges, and community needs can deepen trust and partnership with donors.
• Centering Community in Annual Reports: Sarah introduces the innovative concept of creating "Community Reports" rather than traditional donor-centric annual reports.
• Navigating Donor Values Misalignment: Sarah and Maria discuss how addressing misaligned values with donors early can lead to stronger, more sustainable relationships.

Throughout the episode, Sarah and Maria also reflect on the impact of the Community-Centric Fundraising movement and offer practical examples of how fundraisers can adopt these principles to increase donor trust, engagement, and overall impact.

🎧 Listen to more episodes for actionable fundraising tips and insights on nonprofit leadership, nonprofit governance, donor engagement, productivity & tools, and nonprofit storytelling strategies!

About Sarah Staiger:

Sarah Staiger is a fundraiser with over 20 years of experience. Sarah is passionate about building power through organized people and organized money. She is a partner at Staiger Vitelli Associates and has been exploring Community-Centric Fundraising methodologies since 2017. 

Links and Resources:  

• Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/staigervitelli/ 
• Sarah’s Values-Based Donor Qualification: https://www.staigervitelli.com/vbdq
• Connect with Maria on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mariario/
• Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/208666/supporters/new
• Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/VhzvjcgPQcI

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