Something happens in almost every Connection Circle, and it happened again this summer.
Someone describes their program early in the conversation, usually in broad terms. They explain what the program does, who it serves, and perhaps a few outcomes. Then, twenty minutes later, after the conversation settles in and people move beyond their daily responsibilities, they describe the same program again.
This time, there is a story about a participant who almost didn't return. A challenge the team spent months working through. A partnership that succeeded only after trust had been built over time.
The program hasn't changed. The description has.
What appears in that second version is often the information that never makes it into a dashboard, annual report, grant proposal, or board presentation. Yet it is frequently the information that helps people understand why the work matters.
That observation has been on my mind as we prepare for August's conversation about fundraising and development.
In most professions, important decisions are informed by the people closest to the work. Journalists interview sources. Researchers interview participants. Consultants interview stakeholders. The assumption is simple: if you want to understand what happened, start with the people who were there.
Nonprofits know this, but we don't always build systems around it. Program staff gather knowledge through direct experience. Development professionals build relationships with funders. Leadership teams make strategic decisions. Everyone relies on information from everyone else, yet valuable insights often stay with the people who experienced them firsthand.
The more I think about it, the less I see this as a fundraising issue and the more I see it as a professional development issue.
Many nonprofit professionals become experts through experience, but few receive training on how to communicate what they know. Yet that skill shows up everywhere. Executive directors need it when speaking with boards. Program managers need it when advocating for resources. Development professionals need it when building a case for support.
Fundraising is simply one place where the value of that skill becomes particularly visible.
Different funders may ask different questions, but they are all trying to understand the same thing - what happened, why it mattered, and whether it made a difference. The role of program staff is not to become fundraisers. It is to provide the context, expertise, and perspective that help others understand the work accurately.
That translation is often simpler than it sounds. Compare these two statements:
"We served 214 clients last quarter."
"Two hundred fourteen students received weekly tutoring across three campuses from January through May."
Neither statement is more truthful than the other. The second simply provides context. It helps the reader understand scale, scope, and frequency.
The same principle applies to storytelling. Data tells us what happened. Stories often help us understand why it mattered.
The question I'm bringing into August is not how program staff can become better fundraisers. It's whether our organizations have become intentional about capturing and sharing the knowledge that already exists within them.
Every proposal, donor update, impact report, and strategic plan begins with someone who was there.
The question is whether we've created opportunities to learn from them.
— Aubrey
Coming Up
CONNECTION CIRCLE
What the Proposal Doesn't Capture
Date: August 19th, 2026
Location: Tarrant Area Food Bank
Time: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Two questions on the table. What role do you currently play in fundraising, and what role would you like to play? And what information do you wish you could give to your fundraisers about your programs?
COMMUNITY MEETING
The Story Behind the Ask
Date: August 20th, 2026
Location: Longhorn Council, Scouting America in partnership with Frost Bank, M.Gale & Associates, and Little by Little!
Time: 8:00 am - 9:30 am
We'll work through the fundraising cycle and where you already sit inside it, what individual, corporate, foundation, and government dollars each ask for, and the storytelling piece that tends to land on program staff without much guidance. You'll leave with a takeaway packet you can use in a staff meeting.
COMMUNITY MEETING
Storytelling, Grant Writing, and Impact Narratives
Date: September 17th, 2026
Location: Central Storehouse in partnership with Dynamic Development Strategies!
Time: 8:00 am - 9:30 am
Funders read a lot of proposals. The ones that get funded tell a clear story about real work. We'll walk through the structure of a strong grant proposal, what belongs in an appeal letter, and how impact reports keep funders connected to your mission long after the gift arrives. We'll also spend time on the storytelling itself, how to write about the people you serve with care and accuracy, and how to describe outcomes in language that is both compelling and honest about what your program can deliver.
CONNECTION CIRCLE
What's the Hardest Part of Your Work to Explain to Funders?
Date: September 23rd, 2026
Location: Tarrant Area Food Bank
Time: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Every program has something that lives outside the metrics. The trust that took two years to build. The number that moved slowly for a good reason. You know why it matters, and finding words for it is a skill worth practicing alongside people who understand the work.
Sector News
More Revenue, Fewer Donors
The Fundraising Effectiveness Project's Q4 2025 report, released earlier this year, highlighted a trend that many nonprofit leaders continue to monitor closely. Total charitable giving increased by approximately 5% in 2025, representing some of the strongest growth the sector has seen in recent years. At the same time, however, the number of donors continued to decline, extending a pattern that has persisted for several years.
The report also found that overall donor retention improved only slightly, while retention among first-time donors remained largely unchanged. In practical terms, many organizations continue to face the same challenge: converting an initial gift into a lasting relationship.
That challenge connects directly to this month's discussion. Retention is ultimately about helping donors understand the difference their support made. Financial reports and gift acknowledgments are important, but they rarely tell the entire story. Donors also want evidence that their investment mattered, and that evidence often comes from the people closest to the work.
Development teams can manage the relationship, but the most meaningful details frequently originate with program staff. They know what changed, what obstacles were overcome, and what outcomes emerged that may never fit neatly into a spreadsheet.
As organizations think about donor retention, it may be worth asking a broader question: How effectively are we capturing and sharing knowledge across departments? The strongest organizations are often not the ones that collect the most information. They are the ones that create systems for ensuring that valuable knowledge doesn't remain with only the people who experienced it firsthand.
Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project Q4 2025 Report, released April 21, 2026, by the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy and GivingTuesday.
One Thing to Try
Get the Outside View
Block out the morning. Specifically, the morning of Wednesday, September 2.
Whitley Penn is hosting a free webinar for the nonprofit community, running 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM CT, and the agenda lines up almost exactly with what we're working on this month.
There's an economic update and a wealth case study to open. Then Missy Gale and Laura Hutyra of M.Gale, who are also joining us on August 20, on generosity in context and what current giving trends mean for nonprofits. Then a session on harnessing data for operations and development, which is the storytelling-with-data piece from a firm that reads nonprofit financials for a living. It closes with a conversation on the state of our communities, featuring Jennifer Treviño, Executive Director of Leadership Fort Worth. CPE is pending approval.
From the Community
Community Connection is where we encourage you to share what you need and what you have to offer within the categories we currently support. Open roles. Board seats. Volunteer opportunities. Events worth showing up for.
It is a shared space that connects the organizations doing the work with the professionals ready to join it, strengthen it, and grow alongside it.
Strategy & Learning Sessions
☕ Free Nonprofit Strategy Session with BizBrainstorm
This free, two-hour strategy session brings together volunteer experts from across industries to work alongside nonprofit leadership teams on your most pressing opportunities and obstacles. The format is hands-on and collaborative, designed to generate real clarity and momentum rather than general advice.
Organizations that participate also receive a small donation and often walk away with a group of engaged champions who stay invested in their work long after the session ends. BizBrainstorm hosts one to two nonprofits per month, and the application process is open now.
Note: Participating organizations must be on the list of Fidelity Investments’ Donor Advised Funds. No cost involved.
📖 Learning Resources with AFP Fort Worth
Have you heard about AFP Fort Worth and want to learn more? Did you know that AFP Fort Worth now has Free Monthly webinars for members and $10 for non-members?
Reach out to Olivia Jane Barhorst, MNLM, CFRE, for questions about membership, scholarships, and more. Olivia is on the AFP Fort Worth Board of Directors as Director of Education and also serves as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) International Ambassador and can answer professional development questions.
What's Happening in Our Community
See what your partners and contacts are up to. The calendar makes it easier to stay close to the work happening across the sector in any given month, without chasing down every individual invite.
Plan your own events with the bigger picture in view. When too many galas, fundraisers, or community gatherings land on the same date, partners and funders are forced to choose between them. A quick check before locking in your event saves your team, and the community around it, real headaches.
A Final Note
Nobody is asking you to sell the work. They're asking you to describe a place they've never been.
Until next time,
Founder & Executive Director
Empowering nonprofit leaders to grow and lead with purpose.
