At the heart of fundraising is our ability to connect with others around shared values.

A friend and colleague, Gunther Weil (www.valuementors.com), says it’s not all that easy for people to fundamentally shift their worldviews and values.  There are only a few ways that this will happen.  One is a major life-changing event – things like being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or the death of a loved one.   The other, he says, is the influence of a wise mentor.

Fundraisers can serve as this wise guide in people’s lives.  Personally, this side of philanthropy is what I love most.  I view philanthropy as an efficient portal for people to fundamentally become aware of  and reshift their values and their ideas about money and meaning. Values that used to be most important, those centering on possessions, security and perfection, can be reframed around collaboration, risk-taking and being self.

This is where shift happens. A helpful exercise is to familiarize yourself with Gunther’s powerful work. You’ll start to become aware of the values and worldviews of the people around you and those of your philanthropic partners. This clarity will deepen your work and bounce a light back on yourself in the process.

We think being a “peer” to someone means being in the same socio-economic class or sharing a similar career title. But that’s just not true.  Being a peer – being a partner – means being equally passionate about what you’re doing together, which isn’t finite or measurable.  Truth is, you are never going to reach your absolute maximum level of commitment. That’s not the way real commitment works.  Passion and partnership is ever deepening, ever-growing and, if I can trot out this blog’s marquee, exponential.

That’s the beauty of partnership. And life. It’s a work in progress.