GUEST POST: I Lived It! A Celebrity Helped My Organization Fundraise
…but all I got from it was this Substack post
Hello Substack! I’m Gonzo (real person, pretend name). I subscribe to Fundraising For Breakfast and Dan handed over the reins this week after I was tempted to write a little something based on what we’ve been reading here.
Here’s all you need to know about moi:
I met Dan after my husband took a few of his classes way back when. We’ve kept in touch.
I’ve worked in nonprofit marketing for eight years, specifically for chronic illness organizations.
Milhouse is my favorite character from The Simpsons because he reminds me of my own childhood as an unintentionally funny nerd (but I don’t have blue hair and my parents are still together).
I prefer waffles over pancakes and will fight you about it.
I am not a figment of Dan’s imagination. At least not as of yet.
Hey Kitty!—If you’re looking for a new best friend, I’m here for you! We can laugh and dish about what we read in People Magazine together while we get our toes done. The only thing we’ll disagree about is asking celebrities for donations.
I’ve done it. It’s rough.
I’ve worked with lots of fundraisers over the years. I like them. They’re an industrious, friendly people. Except when they forget to use the Oxford comma in organizational materials and make me want to pull my (not blue) hair out.
Sound off on the Oxford comma!
Marketers and fundraisers are a lot alike. And we often find ourselves in similar kinds of conversations:
“The logo on the step and repeat is too small and now it looks like our gala attendees are standing next to tiny UFOs. Where did they go last night, an X Files Convention?! Fix it!”
“My grandma set up a Facebook Fundraiser for the wrong organization. Can you teach her how to use Facebook? Cancel all your meetings, she’s NOT good with technology.”
“Do you think we can get a celebrity to endorse our organization and give us money?”
I’ve experienced all three scenarios but the third one makes my blood pressure rise. I would rather talk to your grandma about her Facebook Fundraising page before I would fundraise from a celebrity again.
Let me break it down:
For fundraisers (and for my best friend Kitty—hey girl!), a celebrity endorsement means a new source of revenue. But most celebrities are partnering with nonprofits to boost their own image, not yours.
For marketers, the celebrity and their team become our new bosses. Oh, and don’t forget to take all the promotional photos from their good side, please.
And, you’re now responsible for whatever crazy thing spews out of this celebrity’s mouth. Maybe they’re tweeting, “The Parthenon is the hottest night club right now and I’ve ALWAYS wanted to check out. Anyone have an in?” (Dan, blink twice if any of your subscribers think Greek ruins are actually a night club and I'll remove this joke.)
At my first job, I was asked countless times to connect with a specific celebrity to help raise awareness/money for our cause.
Do you think you know who the celebrity is with zero context clues or information? Sound off in the comments!
Why was I asked over, over, and over to reach out to this celebrity? (The grammatically attentive among you will note my proper use of the Oxford comma in the previous sentence). Because I once foolishly told a co-worker that my older sister is a Hollywood producer at a film company. She knows everyone. I mean, not to brag, but Kate Hudson has seen a picture of my dog and thinks he’s really cute. (And no, Kate Hudson was not the celebrity I’m talking about, but nice try!)
One morning I arrived at the office early to find my boss already drumming her fingers at her desk. I knew as soon as she saw me walk in she’d push me (again) to reach out to my mover-and-shaker sister. I bolted into my office, shut the door, and basically hid under my desk. I stayed there until I realized I was too old to hide from my boss.
I went into my boss’s office, told her I’d try to make the connection, and—ta da!— eventually the celebrity did an Instagram Live on our page and donated a movie viewing as an auction prize for our upcoming gala.
But fun friends, let’s see the whole picture. Even though this celebrity was relatively easy to work with compared to other nightmarish Hollywood types…they did not provide us with any revenue to write home about. Their auction prize sat on our GiveSmart page for months. They didn’t make any additional donations to our organization despite our fundraising team’s best efforts. At best, all we got was a little bit of clout on Instagram.
Moral of the story: It’s okay to want someone famous to represent your brand. It gives your organization some glitz and glam and maybe you’ll get some eyeballs on your work you didn’t have before. But what I really love as a marketer is seeing organic fundraising campaigns centered around real people who don’t own athleisure clothing lines. I love to read their stories and see other people relate to their experiences. I want this to be the reason someone donates, not because some flashy celebrity told them to via Instagram.
Looks like my time here is up, folks. Thanks for having me. Keep fundraising and maybe give one of your marketing friends a hug today? You never know when they last hid under their desk because you refuse to use the Oxford comma.
Love the Oxford comma and still put two spaces after the period. Thanks to the guest writer! Fun post!
Hey, Gonzo (new Bestie)! Thanks for sharing your story!
Did the celebrity’s name rhyme with Crew Carrymore?
I passed my love of the Oxford comma on to Dan, but you should know I still put two spaces after a period.
Also, quick RIP to Richard Simmons, who reminded me that I could do better.