A Culture That Keeps Fundraisers Engaged – Team Meetings

In the fast-paced world of face-to-face fundraising, whether you’re working in-house or as part of an agency, your success depends heavily on the dedication of your fundraisers. Despite the high energy in this industry, unmet needs can quickly push your fundraisers to explore other opportunities. 

So, how do you keep them around for the long run and engaged? If you’re a little bit like me, curious, determined and growth oriented, this question is something that you are pondering regularly.

In this article I will be sharing the insights that I have gathered in the last 8 years, things that have worked not only for my teams, but for other teams and projects around the world. 

As you are reading it, keep in mind that this is still a work in progress. So let’s dive in.

Why Does Organizational Culture Matter?

Culture is what happens when people spend time together. It’s what turns a group of individuals into a unified team or community. Every group develops its own vibe - its values, its principles - guiding how everyone interacts. And when it comes to fundraising, a strong culture is one of the keys to smashing your organization’s goals. That’s why investing in your culture is a non-negotiable.

From my experience, three main elements make up a thriving fundraising culture: team meetings, one-on-ones, and field time.

The Magic of Team Meetings

Starting with team meetings - those golden moments where everyone comes together, shares insights, and builds connections. Whether they’re weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, team meetings play a huge role in keeping your crew motivated and addressing whatever’s on their mind.

Creating a Space Where People Feel Safe to Speak Up

A good team meeting is one where everyone gets heard, and mistakes are seen as learning opportunities (as long as you are not repeating the same too many times 🙂). To make this happen, I recommend focusing on four aspects: Growth, Goals, Open Conversations, and Fun.

1. Growth: Learning and focusing together

This is all about directing people's attention and energy towards a common challenge or task. Maybe you’re doing a little team-building, a short training or getting to know each other better - whatever it is, make sure it’s pushing people a bit outside their comfort zone. Tailor your approach to where your team’s at. If they’re newbies, self-awareness & connection activities are great. If they’re seasoned pros, toss them a bigger challenge to tackle together.

Think of it like this: just as neurons that fire together wire together, team members who face challenges together create stronger bonds, which means faster problem-solving and smoother collaboration.

2. Goals: The Fuel That Drives Progress

Sports psychology teaches us that motivation comes first of all from having goals. One thing is setting them and a whole other story is to review them. Probably for most people, the evaluation part is much more challenging.

I very much appreciate Earl Nightingale’s story: “Think of a ship leaving a harbour and think of it with a complete voyage mapped out and planned. The captain and the crew know exactly where they’re going and how long it will take. It has a definite goal. Now 99 times out of 100 it will get to where it started out to get.

Now let’s take another ship, just like the first, only let’s not put a crew on it or a captain at the helm. Let’s give it no aiming point, no goal, no destination. We just start the engine and let it go. I think you agree that if it gets out of the harbour at all, it will either sink or wind up on some deserted beach or derelict. It can’t go anywhere because it has no destination and no guidance.”

Same goes for your team. Setting clear goals, and focusing on development (stopping, negotiating, empathy, etc) allows you to track success based on things you can actually control. Use your team meetings not just to set, but also to track goals. Doing this together can add to the accountability side.

3. Open Conversations: Building Trust and Transparency

Open conversations go beyond just giving everyone a chance to speak. It’s about creating a space where your team feels safe sharing what’s really on their minds, whether it’s work-related or personal. If you let issues fester, they’ll eventually impact performance.

What works for me is something I call '’Minutes of Virtue.'’ In most meetings, we set aside 10-15 minutes to share frustrations or complaints, but always in a respectful, non-judgmental way. This helps us address issues before they escalate.

Here’s how it works: we only talk about behaviors, we ditch the labels (lazy, disorganized, mean, etc), and we encourage everyone to be clear on their intentions before they speak. If no one has anything to say, we just sit in silence… for new players, this can be the hardest part 🙂

4. Fun: The Secret Sauce

And finally, let’s talk about fun! Team meetings don’t have to be all about metrics and progress updates. A little fun can go a long way in building a sense of community, boosting morale, and keeping everyone engaged.

How? might you ask. Try throwing in some quick team-building activities that get people laughing, trivia games or just celebrating small wins. Either the case, do not forget the snacks or treats. I have rarely met someone who did not like chocolate.

When teams laugh together, they connect on a deeper level, which leads to better collaboration, more creativity, and greater trust.

Wrapping It Up

In this article, we looked at how team meetings can foster a culture that keeps fundraisers engaged for more than just a paycheck. By focusing on the four key elements - Growth, Goals, Open Conversations, and Fun - you can create an environment where people come for more than just the money.

Remember, leadership is crucial to making all of this work. Understanding your team’s stage - whether forming, storming, norming, or performing - will help you tailor your approach effectively. 

Building a culture where people want to stick around isn’t just possible, it’s vital. If you’ve made it this far, I hope you’ve picked up a nugget or two to boost your team’s culture. 

In the next article, we’ll dive into one-on-ones and how to structure them with coaching elements to help your fundraisers unlock their full potential.

Until next time, stay inspired and Trust The Process!!

P.S. If you need extra resources, exercise ideas, support or just want to chat, feel free to hit me up at alin@didof2f.com.