You Don't Need to Have it All Figured Out

There’s a version of fundraising that keeps you small.

It sounds like this:

“We’re doing what we can.”

“We’re hoping to raise a little more.”

“We’ll figure it out as we go.”

It’s careful. It’s responsible.

And it quietly limits what’s possible.

With all the love, we want to say this clearly:

None of us can operate this way anymore.

Our missions deserve more.

The change we need to see is too great to hold back.

Be bold with your donors

Instead, we’re inviting you into something different.

Be bold with your donors. Ask for what you really need.

Even if you don’t know exactly how every dollar will be deployed yet.

That might sound like:

“We know it will take $5 million to fully fund this work this year and to stay flexible and nimbly responsive to our community.”

Notice what’s happening there.

You’re not shrinking the number.

You’re not over-explaining.

You’re not pretending certainty you don’t have.

You’re telling the truth.

And that truth does something powerful.

Your donors are not waiting for a perfect plan

We hear this all the time:

“I want to be ready before I say the number.”

“I need to know exactly how we’ll use the funds.”

“What if someone asks a question I can’t answer?”

But here’s what we know after years of doing this work:

Your donors are not waiting for a perfect plan. They’re waiting for the truth.

They are wired to respond to real need.

They want to understand what it actually takes.

They want the chance to choose how they will show up.

And you are the messenger.

Say the whole number

In Values-Based Major Giving, we call this naming the gap.

It’s simple:

What it takes – what you have = what’s missing

Most organizations never say that number out loud.

Or they round it down.

Or they replace it with something more “palatable.”

But when you say the whole number, you change the conversation.

You:

• Anchor people in reality instead of guesswork

• Invite them into the problem, not just the solution

• Give them agency to respond in a way that’s meaningful to them

You move from scarcity language to leadership.

You hold your power as someone who understands what it truly takes to serve your community.

You don’t need all the answers

Let’s name the fear underneath all of this.

“What if I say the number… and someone asks me how we’ll get there?”

Good.

That’s not a problem. That’s the beginning of a real conversation.

You can say:

“We don’t know exactly where it will come from yet. But we believe our community will help us get there.”

That’s not weakness.

That’s transparency.

That’s abundance.

That’s leadership.

And it creates the exact kind of tension that invites people to step in.

This is how you create the environment for fundraising

When you tell the truth about what it takes, you are doing more than sharing information.

You are creating the conditions for generosity.

You are:

• Letting people see the full picture

• Giving them space to choose how they want to help

• Opening the door to deeper, more meaningful conversations

This is how larger, more sustainable gifts happen.

Not by perfecting your pitch.

By telling the truth more often.

A quick way to practice

You don’t need a big campaign or a formal presentation to start.

Try this in your next conversation.

When someone asks, “How’s work going?” say:

1. One real thing you’re working on

2. The full price tag

3. What’s still missing

For example:

“It’s going well—we just expanded one of our programs this spring. And we’re working on raising the remaining $500,000 of the $1.2 million it takes to fully fund the year.”

Then pause.

Let them respond.

Get curious.

That’s it.

A moment for you

Before we close, we want to say something directly to you.

It takes you showing up to this work.

And right now, we’re seeing so many of you creating more humane, sustainable ways of doing it.

Leaders building in walking meetings.

Teams sharing meals together.

Organizations experimenting with 4-day work weeks.

In a moment of real burnout across this sector, that matters.

More ease and joy in your work leads to more courage in your fundraising.

And more courage leads to more money for your mission.

You know who you are.

We see you.

If you don’t want to hold this alone

If naming the gap, building your major gifts program, or just getting all the pieces to work together feels like too much to carry alone…

This is the work we step into with our clients.

From qualification

to portfolio strategy

to messaging

to systems

to appeals

We build it with you, or for you.

If that would lighten the load, we’d love to talk.

You don’t need to wait until it’s all figured out.

Say what it takes.

Invite your people in.

Let them choose to help.

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