66: Curiosity

"...The first and the simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity..."

This week, I’m reading a quote from On the Sublime and Beautiful by Edmund Burke, published in 1756.

Reflection questions:

• What is your personality like:  do you prefer the new and novel or the familiar and dependable?

• What do you think your donor base needs right now?  And, based on what you know about your personality, are you willing to step outside your comfort zone to adapt to your donors’ needs? 

Reflection on Quote:

In my work reviewing materials from fund development professionals, I often see two ends of the spectrum.  Either the work is completely new - every story, every word, every way to invite the donor to join in the mission is new.  On the other end the work is recycled year after year - the same story, the same words, the same call to action.  Honestly, there are times where either one of those is appropriate - the new and the novel or the recycled and the dependable. 

We are, our donors are, naturally curious.  We want to know the new, novel information, novel stories about the work we are supporting.  For this reason, we start with blank screens to write fundraising letters, we brainstorm new events, and we gather new stories from our constituents. Yet, as Burke states, curiosity and novelty doesn’t bind us or our donors to a mission.  For that reason, we also need to remind ourselves and our donors of the familiar stories.  This is why the same fundraising event can be hosted for decades and still be raising more funds each year.  It’s why the same fundraising letter can continue to be successful.  And, it’s why we can tell and retell our origin stories so effectively. It’s a balance between the novel and the dependable.  As professionals, we have to be adaptable to our donors between those two ends of the spectrum - blending curiosity with the familiar.

This work has entered the public domain.

To explore fundraising coaching deeper and to schedule an exploratory session, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

Transcript

Welcome back. This podcast explores the beautiful space where generosity occurs through ancient and modern writings from all cultures, seeking deeper wisdom for fund development work. 

In my work reviewing materials from fund development professionals, I often see two ends of the spectrum.  Either the work is completely new - every story, every word, every way to invite the donor to join in the mission is new.  On the other end the work is recycled year after year - the same story, the same words, the same call to action.  Honestly, there are times where either one of those is appropriate - the new and the novel or the recycled and the dependable.  This week, I came across a work that talks about the balance of the two.  This week, I’m reading a quote from On the Sublime and Beautiful by Edmund Burke, published in 1756.

Quote    

The first and the simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity. By curiosity I mean whatever desire we have for, or whatever pleasure we take in, novelty. We see children perpetually running from place to place, to hunt out something new: they catch with great eagerness, and with very little choice, at whatever comes before them; their attention is engaged by everything, because everything has, in that stage of life, the charm of novelty to recommend it. But as those things, which engage us merely by their novelty, cannot attach us for any length of time, curiosity is the most superficial of all the affections; it changes its object perpetually; it has an appetite which is very sharp, but very easily satisfied; and it has always an appearance of giddiness, restlessness, and anxiety. Curiosity, from its nature, is a very active principle; it quickly runs over the greatest part of its objects, and soon exhausts the variety which is commonly to be met with in nature; the same things make frequent returns, and they return with less and less of any agreeable effect. In short, the occurrences of life, by the time we come to know it a little, would be incapable of affecting the mind with any other sensations than those of loathing and weariness, if many things were not adapted to affect the mind by means of other powers besides novelty in them, and of other passions besides curiosity in ourselves. These powers and passions shall be considered in their place. But, whatever these powers are, or upon what principle soever they affect the mind, it is absolutely necessary that they should not be exerted in those things which a daily and vulgar use have brought into a stale unaffecting familiarity. Some degree of novelty must be one of the materials in every instrument which works upon the mind; and curiosity blends itself more or less with all our passions. 

Unquote

We are, our donors are, naturally curious.  We want to know the new, novel information, novel stories about the work we are supporting.  For this reason, we start with blank screens to write fundraising letters, we brainstorm new events, and we gather new stories from our constituents. Yet, as Burke states, curiosity and novelty doesn’t bind us or our donors to a mission.  For that reason, we also need to remind ourselves and our donors of the familiar stories.  This is why the same fundraising event can be hosted for decades and still be raising more funds each year.  It’s why the same fundraising letter can continue to be successful.  And, it’s why we can tell and retell our origin stories so effectively. It’s a balance between the novel and the dependable.  As professionals, we have to be adaptable to our donors between those two ends of the spectrum - blending curiosity with the familiar.

Let’s reflect on two questions this week:

What is your personality like:  do you prefer the new and novel or the familiar and dependable?

What do you think your donor base needs right now?  And, based on what you know about your personality, are you willing to step outside your comfort zone to adapt to your donors’ needs? 

To explore fundraising coaching deeper, visit Serving Nonprofits dot com. See you next week.