“The Scandalous Truth About Fundraising: No Soloist Can Carry the Hallelujah Chorus”

Dearest Leaders of the Non-Profit Realm,

Word has reached my discerning ears, and I can no longer keep silent. The age when fundraising could be confined to one solitary individual or tucked away in a discreet department is no more. Since the great upheavals of USAID and FCDO’s retreat, a new order has emerged. Fundraising, I must inform you, has become the very lifeblood, the indispensable fabric, the heartbeat of every reputable organisation.

And yet, how curious it is that certain boards continue to assign the noble task of raising fortunes to one poor soul, often with the indignity of a ticking clock attached. I declare, this is not merely misguided, it is a recipe for despair. One might as well ask a lone violin to perform Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus in all its splendour.

Now, I myself have a fondness for singing and have lent my voice to a choir. Thus, I know firsthand that beautiful music is never achieved alone. When the Hallelujah Chorus soars, the sopranos reach for the heavens, the altos carry warmth, the tenors add strength, and the basses ground it all with depth and power. There is the composer who penned the notes, the conductor who shapes the rhythm, and the soloist who steps forward at just the right moment. Every part is indispensable, every voice essential.

Together they create harmony so moving that audiences rise to their feet in rapture. And while not every performance receives a standing ovation, just as not every appeal secures a donation, the choir does not cease to sing. They rehearse, they refine, they persevere, until the ovations come.

So too must your organisations behave. The chair of the board may take the lead, the trustees may sing the higher notes, directors may sustain the middle tones, and others provide the rich foundation beneath. Only together can the full fundraising symphony be heard.

Let us be clear. Fundraising is not the burden of one weary individual. It is the shared duty, the privilege, indeed the honour of the entire organisation. And those who embrace this truth will find themselves not only surviving but thriving, in harmony.

Yours in confident disclosure,
Lady Whistledown
(though some may know me as Keith Kibirango, CEO of New Global Markets Consulting)