Today we’d like to introduce you to Frances Roen.
Hi Frances, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2017, I realized I needed to break up with my dream job.
For nearly eight years, I had devoted myself to the clients we served and our organization’s mission. Together with amazing colleagues and generous donors, we had walked alongside thousands of young people experiencing homelessness as they worked on immediate, life-changing, and long-term goals. We built more housing, developed more partnerships, cultivated more donors–working overtime, at all hours, and to exhaustion with the hope that all young people would find safety, justice, equity, and support in our community.
And, then I just couldn’t do it any longer.
I knew I loved nonprofit work, I loved our mission, and I loved fundraising, but I was frustrated, burnt-out, tired, and unhealthy. My joy for work and my personal health were depleted. And, my colleagues, our donors, and our clients suffered because of it.
As I talked with peers and other nonprofit professionals, it was clear I was not alone. Most of us were barely operating — suffering from extreme physical and mental fatigue, as well as feelings of emotional exhaustion and depletion — even when we loved our jobs (in fact, maybe even because we loved our jobs). We could feel it and our organizations could too.
After hundreds of conversations and fateful life changes that all pointed in the same direction, I started Fundraising Well to empower nonprofit professionals to reclaim joy and wellness in all aspects of fundraising.
Since 2018, we have partnered with dozens of nonprofits and hundreds of nonprofits professionals across the country–helping them re-learn and reclaim healthy and happy fundraising for themselves and their organizations.
As we continue to evolve our services to best meet the needs of our clients, we hold tight to our core value of wellness and our belief the health of an organization is inextricably tied to the health of its team.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been challenging and interesting (in all the good ways) to learn how to flex my entrepreneurial muscles. When I started I had no idea all the ins and outs of LLCs or S-corps, payroll, w9s, business insurance….now, after 4 years, I get to help other women entrepreneurs by sharing the little bits of advice I’ve learned along the way. For instance, I have an incredible accountant I recommend, a solid understanding of the different free invoicing systems out there, and a multitude of platforms I like for meeting scheduling or project management. That being said, I’m always learning and love being introduced to better systems and products that make running a business easier.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At FundraisingWell, our tagline is “a healthier and happier way to fundraise”. We believe that healthy teams are inextricably related to the health of the organization, and that a healthy team and organization is of utmost important in non-profit work. Because we can’t serve others well – if we aren’t well.
We offer fundraising consulting and strategy to clients (both big and small) that is grounded in wellness. We help our clients focus on what they do really WELL or can do really WELL with a little support. It’s a strengths-based approach in partnership with our clients. We will never come in and suggest a million things that a client “should” be doing to be successful in fundraising. That’s discouraging and overwhelming for staff who are generally already feeling a little bit burnt out!
The majority of our clients are looking for fundraising planning or strategy, board training and development, or grant or individual prospecting for a specific campaign. Occasionally, we take help manage capital or comprehensive campaigns for clients. We have been incredibly blessed to partner with many amazing nonprofits doing great work in a variety of sectors. I always tell clients that what you see on our website or in our proposal is a starting place for further conversation. It’s really important for us to “get it right” for the organization. They are their own best experts and we are there to support them in doing things WELL.
Fundraising Well is a women-owned and led company which is increasingly important in today’s nonprofit sector where more than 70% of the workforce is female, and where women are in leadership roles in roughly 6 out of 10 small to mid-sized nonprofits (lots of room to improve here). Additionally, women play central roles in philanthropy – driving personal and family decisions on where to spend time, talent, and finances. In fact, in high net-worth households, 84% of women are the primary decision-maker or joint decision-maker about charitable investments. Yet, with all of the power that women have in the nonprofit sector, the majority of consults still tend to be men. Working with a women owned and led company benefits nonprofits in many ways – a few worth mentioning:
– It changes the gender makeup of decision-makers in nonprofits that are led by men – which research shows results in better efforts at problem solving and productivity.
– It matters to your team, your direct line staff, your donors, and the clients you serve, especially if the majority of the individuals within these groups are female-identifying!
– It’s also been proven through multiple studies that women strengthen team dynamics as they often possess the skills to unite people, further participation, and optimize decision-making processes.
In addition to infusing all of our meetings and services with a bit of wellness (moments of reflection and walking meetings), we offer complimentary quarterly wellness sessions to all of our clients and team members. Last year, we brought in a sleep psychologist, a family therapist, and a conflict resolution trainer for “FundraisingWELLness Conversations”. This year, we are focusing on women-specific issues, food and nutrition, and we may even sneak in an out-of-town wellness retreat in January of 2023.
Another thing that we are really diligent about is helping to model and set positive boundaries. We put in our contract that we don’t email or call or contact clients outside of normal weekday business hours, unless it’s an event or training agreed upon in advance. We work super hard to communicate with our clients and among our team effectively and with lots of grace and are always open to finding better ways to serve our clients.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Network and leverage your connections! Let your contacts know what you are doing. Ask for recommendations, advice…put together a list of 10 people you want to have coffee with or meet with over the next year, and actually do it! Also, set your price to what you believe you deserve – don’t sell yourself short. If you start with a really low price and depend on word of mouth, your bargain basement price will be shared too (and then that’s what your new clients will also expect). Finally (or maybe foremost!), take care of yourself – whatever that looks like for you. Find time to go for a walk, to meditate, to sleep late, or to visit with friends – especially make sure to do these things when you think you don’t have time. You’ll be surprised at how much more effective and efficient you are when you are well.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.fundraisingwellmn.com
- Instagram: @fundraisingwell
