What the Fundraising 203: The Importance of Finding Alignment in your Funder Partners with Andrea Bouch
Sep 10, 2024
Andrea Bouch, a seasoned leader in social impact and tech, discusses her unique journey in navigating the complexities of corporate philanthropy. She highlights the balance between personal connections and strategic focus while engaging with frustrated fundraisers. Andrea emphasizes the importance of empathy, genuine curiosity, and authenticity in building effective partnerships. She explores the nuances of working with individual donors versus family foundations, advocating for alignment and open communication to foster meaningful relationships.
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Fundraising Through Travelers And Families
- Andrea led Rustic Pathways Foundation fundraising targeting travelers' families and students, combining storytelling with community-led project selection.
- Example: a student wrote a children's book to fundraise and a family funded a school's construction after visiting Fiji with Andrea.
Translation Is Not Spin When It's Honest
- Tailoring messaging isn't dishonest when you translate work authentically for different funder audiences; it's about clarity, not spin.
- Andrea contrasted emotionally driven appeals for students with relationship-driven asks for families with foundations.
Corporate Giving Follows Business OKRs
- Corporate grantmakers often have strict funding pillars tied to business metrics, so misaligned asks waste both parties' time.
- Andrea says she must report impact against climate action and retention-related OKRs at DocuSign.