Who is a donor organizer?

A donor organizer is someone who fundraises their communities (friends, family, and extended networks) for our movements.

Through these invitations to contribute, donor organizers welcome people they know into our movements. As they dive deeper into this work, they identify, recruit, and develop the leadership of donors in their network to join them as donor organizers.

Donor organizers build community that funds our work, and from that community political power is built from people who may not have considered themselves organizers or activists before.

Donor organizers do not have to be rich, politically connected, extroverted, or experts.

This could be you! People you know will trust in your passion and reasoning much more than they will trust a fundraising call, text, or email from someone they don’t know.

Someone from your community struggling financially could donate their first $1 to join the donor class, or they may be someone upper middle class writing their first 4-figure check. With their donation, they join you in the cause you care about most.

To get started, you can spend 20 minutes an email to 5 friends asking them to donate, dedicate a handful of hours to prep and host a house party, or dive deep with starting a giving circle. Donor organizing is a practice designed to fit into anyone’s schedule, preferences, and creativity!

 

Common Questions

  • Just about everyone feels this way, even very wealthy people. While hefty checks can come in handy, you certainly don’t need them to impact this work significantly. A handful of $5 gifts are meaningful to countless causes in the movement space.

    Everyone has a network of friends, family, and extended contacts, many of whom would be happy to give to a cause you believed in if asked! People you know will trust in your passion and reasoning much more than they will trust a fundraising call, text, or email from someone they don’t know.

    Over and over, we hear donor organizers surprised at:

    1. How much they were able to raise

    2. How thankful the people in their network are to have a productive outlet for their political anger and anxiety

  • The most significant difference in impact is between doing nothing and something. It’s not about being an “expert” in fundraising. Getting started - sending a first fundraising email or scheduling a 1:1 with a friend - is the most crucial step you’ll make to have a profound impact!

    So many great causes are underfunded and would appreciate every additional dollar raised for them. For example, your efforts could fund an organization’s initial access to phone banking software.

    Even if you interviewed all the experts, you’d find they disagree. We all have different theories of change, and that’s OK! For whatever issue you’re most passionate about, there are strategic causes in need of funding to support that mission.

  • Absolutely - most of us got started with no prior fundraising experience! There are countless ways to raise funds from people in your network.

    The great part about it is you already know them, so you can share about the cause you care about based on what works best for you and them.

    This could be setting up a coffee chat with one of your contacts, sending a BCCed email to a list of 50 people you know, hosting a get-together at your home, organizing an event on Zoom, selling artwork you’ve made that represents the cause you’re raising for… the only limit on opportunities is your imagination!

  • Sign up to speak with an experienced donor organizer!

    There, you can discuss your background and interests, get your questions answered, and figure out next steps that fit with your schedule and goals.