4 Ways Fundraising Can Help With Personal Development

There’s a multitude of reasons why people raise funds for charities. Some do so because they had once been beneficiaries themselves, while others simply like the feeling of being able to give back. For some, they consider fundraising as a productive venue for their extra time and money. There are also a few who see it as a hobby and a great way to meet friends and people who share the same beliefs.  

Meanwhile, some treat fundraising as a way to help them with personal development. To know how is this possible, it’s useful to understand the meaning of the term personal development first. 

What Is Personal Development?

Personal development takes place in an individual’s early life and experiences, and it continues afterward. It also consists of different activities that help them develop their potentials and realize their aspirations. It can also be anything that makes them employable, increases their confidence, and improve life’s quality.  

There are many reasons why personal development is seen to be an important aspect of a person’s life. The most popular school of thought sees personal development as the inherent need of every individual. This thinking also sees it to be their ultimate need as embedded in the concept of ‘self-actualization,’ which is a person’s desire to fulfill their fullest potentials. 

How Fundraising Helps In Personal Development

For the charities that it supports, fundraising is important to ensure that they’ll be able to carry the good work they do. But aside from this, fundraising has surprising benefits particularly for the fundraisers themselves. 

Here are some ways that fundraising can contribute to one’s personal development:

1. Develops Skills That Can Increase Employability

There are many skills you need to possess to successfully run a fundraising campaign. These skills are something that you can use to increase your chances of getting employed in your future endeavors, too. 

One beneficial skill that you can develop from a fundraiser is persuasion. When you start a fundraising campaign, you might need to tell your story or the story of people who’ll benefit from that campaign. Depending on how good your storytelling skills are, you might drive your audience to feel the need to participate and contribute to the said campaign. This kind of experience helps you develop the ability to convince people to buy what you’re selling, which in the case of fundraisers, is a cause.  

Beyond developing persuasion skills is the chance to build your confidence and enhance both your people and communication skills. Fundraising drives would require you to talk with prospective sponsors and beneficiaries, which provides a lot of opportunities to expand your network and connect with more people outside your usual circle. One can even tap to free fundraising platforms available on the internet, like givebutter.com, as it allows anyone to start a campaign and reach thousands of possible donors. 

You’ll also get to develop other skills, like event management, planning, organizing, marketing, and even providing logistical support. Goal-setting skills also result from engaging in this kind of activity. All of these can help you market yourselves better in your career or even when you decide to take the entrepreneurial path.  

Also Read: Why Communication Skills are so Important and How to Develop Them

2. Increases Your Awareness

When a person takes part in a fundraising event or drive, they learn that they don’t live on their own. They realize that there’s a bigger world out there, increasing their awareness that they have the responsibility to help others. 

This awareness isn’t only self-empowering, but it also allows them to identify personal values, like gratitude. By being aware that there are people who aren’t lucky to have the things they have, the feeling of appreciation might follow. Appreciation allows persons to feel better about themselves and overcome the feelings of stress and anxiety, resulting in better and improved quality of life. 

3. Helps You Find Or Strengthen Your Values

Personal values differ from one person to another. As a result of culture and a person’s upbringing, what one sees as important might not be the same as how another person sees it. What motivates and guides one’s decision can also be different from another’s.  

This is the same with people’s attitude towards fundraising. What’s clear, however, is by giving one’s time and resources to worthy causes, a person can strengthen the existing values they have, like kindness or charity, for example. Most people might agree that helping others gives a different feeling of fulfillment. Though the fund won’t come directly from your pocket, the work and effort of having people donate to something that needs it the most can never be measured.  

Also, by working with other people on a project, one might discover values they’ve never thought they possessed all along. One is that they value cooperation over competition. One might also discover that helping other people have a greater sense of self-worth can be their life’s greatest calling. Knowing that one’s efforts are creating a big impact on the lives of others can be a life-changing experience that would help many reevaluate their lives and determine what’s most important to them as a person. 

Having a clear grasp of one’s values is important in achieving personal development. With your discovered motivation, you’ll be able to work on your life’s goals and aspirations. Your personal values can guide you in making better choices for yourself and life in general.  

4. Helps Discover Potentials

Participating or starting a fundraising journey can also help individuals discover their potentials. For instance, a person who has never thought of themselves to be a great speaker might be surprised that they have a gift for speaking all along once they go up the stage and pitch their campaigns. Someone who has just tried creating fundraising brochures or event posters might be surprised that they have the creative chops to undertake a project they’ve never thought they could do in their entire lives.  

From these discoveries, one can have a stronger sense of self-awareness. Self-awareness is necessary for one’s life as it can guide one’s decision and allows you to challenge yourself to strive for the best. 

Also Read: 7 Effective Personality Development Tips You Should Know

Takeaways 

Fundraisings have many benefits, and one area that benefits most from them is personal development. Engaging in fundraising activities can help an individual strengthen and find their personal values and increase their awareness. This applies not just within themselves, but to those around them. 

Also, fundraising activities help discover one’s potentials and develop skills necessary for employability. If you have the time, energy, money, and a cause you strongly believe in, why not start with a fundraising campaign today?