A Foodie in Development: A Plate of Rice, Veggies, Salmon, and the Struggle with Inclination in Fundraising
Dear Diary,
What are you having for dinner tonight? Recently, I made a plate of white rice, sautéed vegetables, and charred salmon, and I would love to share the recipe with you. First, the preparation– you will need white rice, red peppers, green onions, one yellow onion, spinach, and salmon.
To make sure everything is ready prior to cooking you need to cut the red peppers, not exactly diced but also not too big; You will need to chop up the green onions and the yellow onion. The spinach leaves will be a later addition on your pan so keep it somewhat close by. Place the chopped ingredients into the same bowl. Next, wash and slow cook your white rice on low heat, and then, clean and slice your salmon into long strips. You will need the following spices – please note that these specific spices and ingredients are optional, as you may like different flavors – I chose Old Bay, Italian seasoning, black pepper, salt, garlic, onion, honey, and lemon juice.
What I enjoyed the most about this meal was the fixed textures and flavors that each part of the dish provided – the rice offering a stable palette, the vegetables adding a nuanced kick, and the salmon bursting through with flavor – the combination of rice, vegetables, and salmon on your fork invigorating your taste buds with each bite. There is pleasant synchronicity as each component meets and provides delight.
As I chewed, I could not help but think about the fundraising sector’s struggle with inclination. Inclination (Noun) is defined as “a person's natural tendency or urge to act or feel in a particular way; a disposition or propensity.” In our field, we have made strides to measure and understand RFM – Recency, Frequency, Monetary, and we have worked on models that analyze affinity and inclination. But to truly know if someone will be inclined to give a gift, this has not been and cannot be perfectly assumed. In my opinion, this is where the humanity of our donors and prospects overpowers our models and analysis. To know inclination, we must remember that life events and human experiences are more important than an organization’s purpose. This is also a shifting stage, meaning, someone may begin their relationship with an organization with full intent to give or may prove to be very inclined to give, but then in their life journey things may change causing them to resign from their motivations and interest. This shift cannot be measured or produced through a model. From a broad lens, we assume someone is inclined to give based on their philanthropic giving history and current interests, we also know that their engagement with our organization shows strong likelihood of affinity, and through conversations we confirm and establish that a relationship is building. Unfortunately, what becomes uncertain is the exact moment when the prospect will give? What will truly push them to give? And, if or when they will decide that this is no longer an investment for them. We cannot predict moments or decisions. There are also the moments when our research shows that the prospect would be inclined to give, and then the actual conversation proves otherwise. In moments like that, as a prospect researcher, I always feel humbled and honest because that is when I remember that we only learn people from a specific vantage point, we are not learning their true stories or personal lives. We only provide publicly available information, a sometimes-extended experience and read on a person or entity.
Let’s finish making our meal…
With your ingredients in place, add your chopped red pepper, green onion, and yellow onion onto a pan that is already heating up. The pan should already be coated with olive oil and a teaspoon of minced garlic. I love that sizzling sound that ingredients make when they meet the heat and oil. Can you hear it? That chemistry. As the vegetables are cooking, let’s turn our attention to the salmon which should be placed onto another pan. Season your salmon with your chosen spices and wait until it is slightly charred to drizzle some honey and lemon juice for a warm coating and final embrace of flavors. Remember your spinach? As you look at your vegetables they should be gaining a brown shade with a lovely aroma in the air. It is time to add the spinach because it cooks very quickly, and you don’t want it to lose flavor. Have you checked on your rice? Whether you are using a rice cooker or cooking your rice in a pot, let’s hope you have made it perfectly and it is ready. On your plate should rest your white rice, your sautéed vegetables, and then the flavorful salmon. I hope that when you recreate this dish the differences on your plate will truly delight you.
It is a special experience to marry this meal with the conscious thinking that inclination is human motivated and not a perfect predictable science. Try to also remember to celebrate the moments of rejection when a prospect is no longer your prospect – this is when you are living through the ebbs and flows of life.
For more recipes make sure to check out the rest of A Food in Development series.
Until next time, July 15th!
