Demystifying Donor Organizing

What does circulating a GoFundMe in honor of your birthday, turning game night into a donation-centered event, and turning your reading group into a giving circle all have in common? Genevieve and JJ, our Individual Giving Team, say that’s donor organizing! 

This summer, Genevieve and JJ launched DONUTS, a virtual, cross-class donor organizing cohort that brought together people of all levels of experience to demystify donor organizing and collectively brainstorm ways to resource gender justice movements together. Today we’re sharing a conversation between Genevieve and JJ that spotlights their campaign work and how we might all get a little braver together.

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Genevieve: So JJ, I couldn’t be more excited to spotlight Third Wave Fund’s grassroots donor organizing campaign that you’ve been leading this summer. First, what is donor organizing? And of course, the burning question…what do DONUTS have to do with donor organizing? 

‍J: Oh I’ll get to DONUTS. This summer, we launched a donor organizing cohort, so we basically invited folks to get creative about mobilizing resources from within their own communities to help us move more money to gender justice movements. I’ve had a lot of fun talking to people about all the brilliant and unique actions they’re taking—definitely makes me feel more hopeful in these trying times. A common feeling that’s really clear is that donor organizing sounds kind of intimidating or like you need to have special skills and connections to do it, but in reality most of us have experience as donor organizers—we just haven’t been calling it that. 

‍G: Yes to demystifying donor organizing! I also want to celebrate the fact that talking to folks about their ideas is fun and is bringing you some hope. That spirit-lifting effect and sense of connection feels like an important part of the donor organizing experience, and I’m sure we can get into that. Can you break “donor organizing” down even further and give some examples of what it can look like? 

‍J: Things like posting about a fundraiser on social media in honor of your birthday, or making a rule during game night that involves donating when you roll a 1 on the dice. My best friend and I have an ongoing joke where we donate $5 every time we accidentally make a H@rry P*tter reference. Most of us have reshared GoFundMe pages, or sold Girl Scout cookies, or talked to our friends about a cause we care about that could use a boost. Any time you’re getting folks in your community to pool their resources for a shared goal, it’s donor organizing in my mind. But talking about money can be scary, especially now, so the anxiety associated with fundraising is real.

‍G: Absolutely. Even in ideal conditions, it can be nerve wracking to ask for money, let alone just talking about it while the world is ablaze. Those fears and anxieties are real, and both are valid responses to uncertainty. It’s when those fears and anxieties turn into fixed scarcity mindsets that people retreat from each other, major funding sources dry up, wealth hoarding increases, and racial capitalism wins. 

‍J: I’m not a fan of any of those outcomes, personally. So what do we do in the face of those very real anxieties, and how do we prevent it from getting in the way of our work?

‍G: Well, movement organizers taught me that there’s more than enough resources to go around and each of us has a role in rechannelling those resources to build up our collective liberation. So where there’s uncertainty, there’s also so much possibility and potential to do something creative, courageous, and—most importantly, connective. 

‍J: And what does that look like for you?

‍G: It's like having more open and honest conversations with my close friends about money and moving it into the movement, turning a reading group into a nascent giving circle, circulating a GoFundMe for my birthday, and meeting regularly with an accountability buddy to mutually support our redistribution goals. That’s what’s working for me! 

‍J: In a way, I think resisting a scarcity mindset is kind of exciting. We actually CAN have it all!  Something I’ve been hearing a lot from folks in the donor organizing cohort is this desire to fund their own work while at the same time moving money for Third Wave Fund. And I think that’s not just correct, it’s also incredibly important. 

‍G: Yes! We want people to look after each other in whatever ways possible. That can be moving money to your own group and also moving resources with Third Wave to a vast network of emerging organizations, like groups in the Midwest caring for queer youth, or a coalition of Black sex workers in the South doing healing justice work and protecting trans immigrants.  

‍J: Because those folks are in our community and we want them to be fully resourced, and also one of the coolest things about our work at Third Wave Fund is that we can move money to places people may have never considered before. We can reach directly-impacted community organizers thousands of miles away, and also support folks in resourcing their own work at home. We can do deep rooted multi-year funding, and at the same time fund movement moments with rapid response dollars. There’s so much we can do after letting go of the scarcity mindset. 

‍G: Exactly! Pouring into gender justice organizers the way they pour into our liberation, whether that means making a one-time or monthly donation or ramping up your commitment with a pledge, is an active way to practice that abundance. Beyond financial contributions, what can people do, JJ? And how does this all involve donuts? 

‍J: “Donuts” has basically been my silly way of reminding myself that even when we’re doing important work (moving money to resource gender justice organizing), we don’t have to take ourselves too seriously. We can get creative and have fun. So I’ve been affectionately referring to the donor organizing cohort as “the donuts” aka “Donor Organizing Network Uplifted by TWF Staff.” DONUTS! 

And in terms of what people can do: The main ask right now is to resist the scarcity mindset by getting a little creative and a little brave. We’ve put together a donor organizing toolkit full of resources and ideas, and I want to invite folks to choose one thing from the toolkit and just go do it. Even if the action is simply sharing the link with someone else. Now is the time to take on a little risk.

‍G: Couldn’t have said it better myself, JJ. 

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If donor organizing is something you’ve been meaning to do or you’re curious enough to give it a try, email us at fundraising@thirdwavefund.org. We want to support people getting out there, resisting scarcity, and raising the dough for gender justice! 

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In radical solidarity and joy-affirming silliness, 

Genevieve Saavedra (they/themme) & JJ (they/he)