As calendars flip to January and resolutions take shape, fundraising drives surge back into focus, filling inboxes, social feeds and community calendars with calls to give. For many organizations, the new year brings fresh momentum and ambitious goals, but for some volunteers and supporters, the season also revives a familiar mix of pressure and reluctance toward the constant ask.
Swampscott resident Barrie Atkin has taken her work as a fundraising, strategy and marketing consultant and put her advice into a book, “Hate Fundraising? How to Become Comfortable Asking for Money.”
“It aimed at volunteers in fundraising, anyone who is asked to fundraise,” Atkin said. “It gives them reasons to overcome their fears.”
After graduating from Harvard Business School, Atkin worked for publishers before switching to marketing strategy consulting. During the 2008 recession, she took stock of her skill set and realized she had valuable expertise in fundraising.
“Like anybody else, I’ve been asked to fundraise, and sometimes I hated it,” Atkin said. “I looked at why. And then I got asked to fundraise for a local organization, and I taught that group how to overcome their fears and it took off from there.”
Atkin cites Giving USA in her book, noting that in 2023 Americans gave $557.16 billion to charity. About two-thirds of those donations came from individuals, and roughly 60 to 68% of households make charitable contributions each year.
Atkin even includes a scale in the introduction of her book that allows readers to gauge their aversion to – or enjoyment of – fundraising. It ranges from “I try to skip meetings about fundraising” to “It’s not my cup of tea, but I realize it’s important,” and up to “I love connecting with people who want to support our nonprofit.”
“One thing that comes up this time of year is fear of discomfort asking people for money from their family and friends,” Atkin said. “You don’t want to sit around the holidays at the table, and so the advice I give in that area is the same I give to any other area: to know your audience…You have to be able to connect the individuals to the cause. If the individual has no interest in the cause, you’re wasting your time.”
The book idea started from the workshops Atkin conducted around the topic. For many years, she talked with a wide range of people about the reasons they hate or fear fundraising and how to overcome them.
“Hate Fundraising? How to Become Comfortable Asking for Money” breaks down the typical barriers for people into six categories, and Atkin offers a solution for each. Atkin looks at the lack of technique, confidence, comfortability around talking money and comfortability with an organization or cause.
“It’s not just the CFO of a company…Everybody gets asked to fundraise for something. Most people are involved in a not for profit in some way. They’re involved with the school. They’re involved with the Girl Scouts or Boy Scout troop, or even the rotary,” Atkin said. A lot of people are very uncomfortable asking people for money.”
But even beyond the fundraising chapters, Atkin explores alternatives to fundraising too.
“It could be helping with the data; helping with with putting out envelopes; helping with making phone calls – though that can be intimidating for some people; looking for gifts for a silent auction,” Atkin said.
“Hate Fundraising? How to Become Comfortable Asking for Money” is available to purchase in paperback and ebook formats.
