Forget New Year’s resolutions: 4 steps to set out a purpose-driven path for the new year
By this time in January, that new year’s optimism that prompts us to make resolutions or set out new goals has succumbed to the daily grind.
Even though resolutions can be tricky to keep up, our drive to seek a fresh start in January first tells us something about what keeps us ticking: We need periodic resets to stay motivated.
We need reminders of why we wake up at an unpleasant hour every morning to show up for work. After the end-of-year chaos, we need to re-align our priorities, organize our thoughts, and regain control over our time and energy.
Without these big-picture check-ins, we can easily burn ourselves out without much to show for it. The question is: How do we do it in a way that sticks and guides us through a year of more effective, efficient, and purpose-driven work?
1. Return to (and revise) your purpose.
As fundraisers, our effectiveness directly correlates with the strength of our sense of purpose. Our ‘why’ reveals the answers to more tactical questions. It determines what we do with our time and energy—and crucially, releases us from the busywork that keeps us stuck in exhaustion.
Take out a piece of paper and write this out by hand: Why does my work matter in this moment?
Break it down into three categories:
My organization’s mission & vision
My organization’s role in the community
My role in this work
If you’ve done this kind of work before, it might help to use that as a reference—but resist simply copy-pasting old answers. Your sense of purpose must be dynamic to remain a relevant and effective driving force.
It may help to ask:
What are the societal issues and opportunities that we touch?
What are the ripple effects of our work?
How does the present climate (local, national, global) impact those issues and opportunities, the communities we serve, and our ability to live out our mission and values?
What solutions are we bringing to the table that need to get amplified?
Why is it urgent that we bring them forward (and potentially scale them)?
What is our role in addressing the root causes of injustice?
Where do we offer much-needed hope?
Next, consider the upcoming year. How might your answers evolve?
What trends are you seeing already that may intensify the need for your solutions, the urgency behind your mission, and the value of the hope you provide?
Then get clear about your case: How does giving to your organization advance solutions and hope for our society? How does an investment now position your organization to lead your community through the year ahead?
2. Release what no longer serves you.
As fundraisers, our inherited mindsets about money, nonprofits, and fundraising often hold us back from asking boldly. Is leveraging the moment to make big asks opportunistic, greedy, transactional, or even predatory?
Simply put: No. Your donors choose to support your mission. They invest in your organization to live out their own values and sense of purpose. They care.
Your role is to provide opportunities for them to make the most impact. You are the expert. They rely on their relationship with you to guide their decisions. You can best support them by coming in equipped with the answers you came up with above: What your mission has to offer the world in this moment. Share, and ask donors to support it, with confidence.
Your role in this is movement-building: to build a robust, diverse coalition of people energized to further your organization’s vision.
3. Seize this moment.
You have identified what makes your work important now. You know the urgency—and you know there is a lot of noise to cut through to convey that to the world.
The need for your organization’s work will grow in the year(s) ahead, but the current drive to do something may not. We are currently in a place where many people are fighting to stay hopeful. They may not stay that way. Who among us doesn’t sometimes long to hide under a blanket indefinitely?
The hope you offer is a lifeline—so treat it that way. The people you’re reaching out to for support need avenues for remaining engaged and optimistic. They may initially give through you to support an urgent cause. It’s your job to inspire those ‘spontaneous donors’ to join your movement and give to you in the years ahead.
4. Prioritize connection.
What all of us need most right now is connection. No matter what your driving purpose may be, it can point you to the basic human need to nurture compassion for one another. It’s what fosters hope, both in the giving and the receiving.
Each time we share our story, make time for a conversation, invite someone to join us, we nurture that crucial component of humanity.
Look at that piece of paper you filled with meaning—with purpose, hope, and verve. That’s your north star. Everything else is busywork. Challenge yourself: How can you spend more, or even most, of your time nurturing authentic connection that rallies your community around your mission?
