What's Inside The Community?

1. A Place for Imperfect Action, Building New Habits, Taking Risks, and Finding Support.

Just by the title of this community alone, I hope you realize that we do things differently here. When I started fundraising, I was SURE I was a bad fundraiser. I was so uncomfortable, uncertain, and scattered all the time which led me to be stressed, overwhelmed, and burnt out consistently. What made it all worse was the fact that it felt like everyone else knew what they were doing, that they all knew a secret that I didn’t know. This is a toxic veil that exists in our sector and it holds fundraisers back and keeps changemakers on the sidelines. You won't find that here. We are here for honesty, humility, curiosity, testing, iterations, risk-taking, and supporting each other through all of it.

2. Resources

I have curated some of my top resources to help you overcome your biggest barriers to fundraising success (including how to save time and prioritize). You’ll find links to blog posts, hot podcast episodes, FREE courses, and exclusive events. Plus, we want this community to be providing resources for each other as well. We are so excited to watch the resource hub grow as this community grows. 

3. Community

Our nervous systems are wired for community. Have you ever noticed that it’s hard to talk yourself down from a spiral in your head but talking it out with someone else who acknowledges and validates how you’re feeling finally helps you move through it? Yup. That’s because healing is relational. One of the things that burn nonprofit leaders and fundraisers out is the fact that our work is so siloed. You need people that you can come to when you had that ‘really awkward donor meeting’ and when you had a win that you’ve been working on for months. We’re here to cheer you on, be a shoulder to cry on, or be a thought partner to hash something out with. No more isolation for you!

We can't wait to meet you inside.

A Letter from Mallory

Dear Nonprofit Leaders and Fundraisers,

You might be wondering what you're doing here, why I invited you, why your friend invited you, or how on earth you stumbled here via google. 

First of all, welcome. It's so nice to meet you and I'm thrilled that you're here. Starting this community is one of the scariest things I've ever done. I'm doing it before I'm 'ready', but here's why I am doing it anyway....

I watch fundraisers struggling every day. I watch them leave positions that really need them because they are unsupported, stuck, frustrated, scattered, and disempowered. I cringe when I hear about another uncomfortable power dynamic in a funder meeting or the blatant racism that Black and brown fundraisers (in particular) experience. 

There is SO MUCH that is broken and problematic in the system and in the structure of nonprofits, and if you’ve listened to an episode of What the Fundraising you know how deeply committed I am to systems-level change. 

AND I believe that as fundraisers and nonprofit leaders we have more power than we realize in being the changemakers we’re waiting for. 

Why do I believe this?

Because over the past 2.5 years I have trained over 20,000 fundraisers using principles from my signature program - the Power Partners Formula. What I have realized is that these lessons, and the many others I’ve learned from 70+ podcast interviews, nonprofit feedback, and fundraising on the ground, are more than a ‘program’ they’re a methodology. A unique methodology of fundraising. 

Some fundraisers are using some of the methods here and there, but the full methodology has yet to be strung together. 

So what is the methodology?

We hear a lot in our sector about transactional vs. transformational fundraising. But it feels very unclear how to operate as a ‘transformational fundraiser’. Especially when navigating the scarcity mindset and other stigmas / limiting beliefs projected onto the sector. 

So, I’ve been sitting with this question for months, and the answer I continually arrive at is that sustainable and transformational fundraising, and fundraising that feels good and authentic to the fundraiser, is all rooted in alignment. 

If you’ve followed my work for a bit, or you’ve been inside Power Partners, alignment will not be a new concept for you. But creating a full fundraising methodology around alignment - is new - and it’s also not something I can (or want to) do alone. 

I want to build the methods and practices of Alignment Fundraising together. And that’s why I’ve created this group. Because I know that WE can fundamentally change the practice of fundraising, partnership building, and money movement in the nonprofit sector. 

I believe we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. And if you’re like me, you’re tired of waiting. 

If you want to read more about Alignment Fundraising, the core beliefs and values that root this work, and the framework that currently guides the way I teach fundraisers and nonprofits, then come on in and check it out.

I hope to see you soon, changemaker.