When you take on the challenge of fundraising for an organization, you make a sacrifice for the betterment of someone or something else. Whether it’s your time or your funds, you forego a personal benefit and donate that energy to the organization. But what benefits do you receive from fundraising? It’s actually a lot more than just that warm fuzzy feeling of doing something good for someone else. Here are four things you gain from fundraising for an organization.
- Better networking and exposure – Reaching out to your contacts to participate in your fundraising efforts helps grow and solidify those relationships. Especially when you reach out to them for something more than just selling your product. And, when your contacts learn about your efforts, many times they think of someone you may not know that would like to be involved, growing your network.
- Making a fulfilling contribution to an organization you care about – Often, fundraising doesn’t take much time out of your day, just an occasional extra conversation, but it does make the day to day a little more interesting. You gain a different kind of satisfaction than you do from your regular 9-to-5, and it can help keep you motivated in a different way.
- New knowledge about an organization for which you care – You’ll gain important knowledge not only about the organization you’re supporting in more ways than you would from a business connection but you also may gain more access to those higher up in the organization as a result.
- Personal fulfillment knowing you helped an organization or cause you believe in – This is that warm fuzzy feeling! Most people recognize this as a big part of why they fundraise, but they don’t realize how much that feeling impacts their health and happiness. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”
Looking for an opportunity to get involved? Join the 2016 Spring Challenge Campaign, a fundraiser that will allow you to develop new relationships, engage more deeply in the Chamber and help it increase its impact. The challenge kicks off on April 13.
Dorothy Ostrogorski is a membership representative for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.