by Peter Zehren, Biz Times, April 2015
It’s an interesting dilemma but one professional fundraisers are facing every day in a myriad of ways. In our digital world, boundaries are blurring at a dizzying speed that jeopardizes the very concept of fundraising.
“The term ‘fundraising’ has been highjacked,” according to Kimbia Senior Principle Fundraising Strategist Miriam Kagan. She explains the public cannot tell the difference between helping a friend by what could be called “micro-investing” and fundraising. “If I want to open a bagel shop; I’m going to fundraise money for it; but it’s not really charity. Everybody’s giving money to me as a small investment.”
Kagan believes the biggest challenge facing fundraisers today is this blurred concept of fundraising, “With crowdfunding fundraising becomes more ubiquitous and nonprofits have to fight to re-own that word [fundraising].” Kimbia has been helping larger organizations in the crowdfunding field for years, so they’ve been watching this societal shift in thinking.