What can a campaigner learn from a fundraising conference? - by Jon Cornejo
As a campaigner at a fundraising conference, I felt like an imposter, but I quickly felt at home at #BAMEOnline. There is so much that campaigners and advocates can learn from this event!
Fundraisers get all the best swag and events. I remember working as a campaigner trying to get hold of someone from fundraising for a meeting, only to find they were out again at a fundraising conference. At the time I felt a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) and thought about how good it would be to have a campaigning conference where I could learn from peers how to do better change making work. Working in an all-white campaigns team, I longed for an event where I could meet others like me to talk of our frustrations with the sector and dream of something better.
Of course, now I know that those conferences and spaces have always existed, but were really only built for white people, and that they play a big role in normalising white supremacy culture in our sector. Black and brown friends in fundraising roles would either tell me about how they were never picked to attend these conferences or speak of their discomfort at being in another all-white space. The fundraising conference was just another place to celebrate whiteness and maintain a status quo that excludes people of colour. I never did get to go to a campaigning conference, but attending global meetings I got the same exclusionary vibes. Campaigning was another area dominated by whiteness, where people like me were not meant to succeed or thrive.
Which is why the #BAMEOnline fundraising conference was such a breath of fresh air. Here was a space built by people of colour, for people of colour. A space that was designed not just to lift ourselves up as racially minoritised fundraisers, but to collectively dream of something better. This promise is what drew me in, and when the amazing Martha Awojobi asked me to take part as a speaker, I couldn’t say no! Here at #BAMEOnline I never felt like an outsider or like an imposter, I was welcomed with open arms as my full authentic self. I found a community where fundraisers and campaigners of colour could learn from each other, be ourselves, and work to build something better.
Sketch note from How Fundraising Can Support the Anti-Racist Movement session at #BAMEOnline 2021
At last year’s conference I was delighted to host the Systems Change bubble, bringing together some of the most talented people together to talk about how we transform the charity sector for the better through anti-racist practice. Khadijah Diskin gave us a deep dive into how philanthropy and imperialism are interlinked, showing us that when we build our campaign strategies, we need to employ a historical analysis to uncover how systems of oppression then obstruct the change we seek to build now. Anu Priya and Aanchal Clare talked about how choosing joy can in itself be an act of resistance in a world that so often keeps us down, showing us that building joy into our campaigns is an important part of building a movement that will deliver transformative change.
Then in the panel discussion, superstar fundraisers and funders from the US, UK, and Canada came together to look at how the fundraising sector can meaningfully support the anti-racism movement. It was a beautiful fusion of fundraising and activism which showed how important reflection and critique are to building a more equitable and just charity sector. In just 40 mins we dissected the ideologies, frameworks, and structures that are at play in the fundraising and philanthropy space that hold us back from doing effective anti-racist work. From the white moderate thinking that is so ingrained into our work, the scarcity mindset that keeps us from trying radical new ways of organising ourselves, to how the work that gets funded is so often treating the symptoms of oppression and not the cause.
As a campaigner that is so drawn to systemic change it was just awe inspiring to see Fozia, Vu, and Rickesh so elegantly cut to the very heart of what is wrong with fundraising and philanthropy and then so lovingly build it back up as something better and more effective. The key takeaway was moving away from empathy as the driving emotion behind our fundraising comms and towards justice. This shift could bring Fundraisers and Campaigners closer than ever in the fight to build a better and more just world, and I cannot wait to see it!
There is so much fire content that I could highlight here that campaigners could learn so much from. The storytelling sessions that will teach you how to do better comms. The sessions on navigating powerful funders will help you build better influencing strategies and find new allies for your campaigns. And the professional development sessions will give you everything you need to progress in your career in a sector that is so overwhelmingly weighted towards white people. But rather than keep gushing love, I’ll finish with some of my key takeaways on what campaigners can learn from the #BAMEOnline fundraising conference:
1. We need to break out of our shells to become better campaigners
What I was most inspired by, across all the amazing sessions at #BAMEOnline, was just the depth of analysis and reflection on show here. As campaigners we so often have to analyse the systems around us to develop strategies to build change, but this sometimes feels like a lonely and introspective exercise. Here it was a collective community effort where our diversity helped us dig deeper and dream bigger. We need to build communities like this to build better approaches to achieving change in society.
2. Fundraisers can be our friends in building deep systemic change
#BAMEOnline brought together people from across the fundraising world to dream of a better future for the sector. By sharing our frustrations of how things are at the moment, we were able to build a picture for a better future where our fundraising work is driven by a sense of justice rather than a sense of victimhood. Where we work in solidarity with communities who are oppressed, resist white supremacist norms and inspire our supporters to join in their fight to build a better world. This is what we as campaigners have wanted all along, and it is time to join forces with our colleagues in fundraising to build a better charity sector where anti-racist practice is at the heart of everything we do!
3. Connecting with other minoritised people is vital for our wellbeing as POC campaigners
Thinking of #BAMEOnline brings a smile to my face and warms my heart. It reminds me of the joy that was on every speaker’s face as they engaged in profound conversation about systemic change with other people like them. Or the joy on show in the chat box as people of colour working across the charity sector felt able to be themselves and were able to see themselves represented. When our workplaces are so overwhelmingly white, we need to put in time and energy into connecting with other people like us to recharge. Places like #BAMEOnline can really help improve our wellbeing.
As campaigners we can sometimes be guilty of seeing fundraisers as the bad guy. #BAMEOnline shows us that there is so much that we can learn from each other, and that there is so much to be gained by working together towards building racial justice in our sector and in society.
Tickets are now on sale for #BAMEOnline 2022 Conference
