Do you feel like there’s never enough time or money?
We’ve been there. In that endless loop of not enough time and not enough money, and so much need. And we’ll be honest, sometimes raising money left us feeling fake, burnt-out, or just icky. Nearly 15 years ago, we started looking for a better way.
We started trying stuff – fundraising practices that felt more authentic, more respectful of our community, our colleagues, and ourselves.
We found more direct, community-focused ways to raise all the money our missions really needed.
And it worked. Individual giving revenue grew by more than 10 percent per year over a ten-year period.
This experience changed the way we fundraise forever. And now we want to share what we learned with you.
Values-Based Fundraising
Values-Based Fundraising is the use of strategies and practices intentionally aligned with organizational values and grounded in race equity and social justice to organize people and money for your mission.
It’s fundraising that feels good. Fundraising done with integrity and authenticity. Fundraising that honors relationships and community. Fundraising from a place of abundance.
Are you wondering how your fundraising can feel this good?
We’ll show you how. Whether you’re new to this journey or already on your way, we have consulting and training packages to support you and your team.
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Schedule your FREE 15-minute consultation now!
SVA has "an exceptional ability to alleviate the apprehension often associated with fundraising. Sarah and Laura are true experts at crafting practical, real-world strategies for nonprofits like ours who are seeking to cultivate a joyful community of advocates who are genuinely enthusiastic and invested in our mission."
Victoria Clark-West, Executive Director
Northcountry Cooperative Foundation
Our Services
Check out our consulting, campaign, planning, group coaching, and training options.
The time is right for Values-Based Fundraising if you are:
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Ready to sustainably increase contributions to your mission
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Thinking about a fundraising campaign
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Organizing people for power to create change
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In transition -- between fundraising leaders or experiencing turnover on your team
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Community-Centric Fundraising curious
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Who's practicing Values-Based Fundraising?
Our Story
We have made big mistakes and celebrated the bigger wins from building power with organized people and organized money.
We spent years practicing fundraising that didn’t feel good. We raised a lot of money with so-called best practices that gave donors all the power. Practices that didn’t honor the strength of our service users or the community.
We experienced the dissonance that comes from getting sideways with your values. We were frustrated by how little things changed, even while we and so many other well-intentioned people worked really hard and moved lots of money. We saw how injustice persisted.
So, we went looking for a new way. We learned from our organizing colleagues. We listened to the BIPOC fundraisers leading the Community Centric Fundraising movement. We did our own work to understand our biases and privilege and how white supremacy works.
And we started trying stuff. We changed the way we told stories about service users in our appeal letters. We made sure to lift up the systems that create and perpetuate inequities. We lovingly agitated donors when they asked questions or expressed ideas rooted in prejudice and stereotypes. We expanded our definition of major donor.
We learned that we could still raise money when we focused first on mission and community instead of the donors. In fact, we learned we can raise more money.
Now, we’re sharing what we’ve learned – and continue to learn – about Values-Based Fundraising. We have a fundraising framework that offers you more money for mission and more ease and joy in your work. With 50 years' experience and many millions raised for mission-driven organizations, we're spilling all we know so that you can move more money to mission, center your community and live up to your values.