Sea Change turns 20: Here are 20 things we’ve learned along the way

Sea Change turns 20 this year, which feels both impossible and immensely rewarding.

When we started Sea Change in 2006, George W. Bush was president, Twitter was just making its debut and Mark and I were still tapping away on BlackBerrys because the iPhone hadn’t even been unveiled yet.

In nonprofit speak, midlevel fundraising was barely a twinkle in the sector’s eye, people were (falsely) predicting that direct mail was dying (it hasn’t yet), and no nonprofit CEO had yet uttered the words: “Just build me a digital fundraising program like Obama’s already.”

The world has changed dramatically since then. (And so has my eyesight.) But at the heart of fundraising, some things have stayed remarkably consistent.

Over the last 20 years, we’ve had the privilege of listening to thousands of donors, testing what works, learning what doesn’t and watching organizations grow when they stay grounded in what matters most: real human connection.

So in honor of this milestone, here are 20 quick tidbits (in no particular order) we’ve learned about fundraising (and humans) throughout these years.

• Donors are not a “list” or a “file.” They’re people who care about the work we do, often passionately, and who are juggling lives just as complicated as our own.
• Strong leaders don’t saddle fundraisers with unrealistic, “unicorn-thinking” revenue goals.
• Strong leaders do set ambitious impact goals that inspire and expand what feels possible for staff and donors alike.
• The best thank-you messages sound and look like a real human wrote them.
• Make time every day to connect meaningfully with the people you work alongside. It makes the work and day better.
• There is a cohort of donors who give between $1,000 and $10,000 who have been chronically overlooked and are primed to give a heck of a lot more if stewarded well.
• It’s all about casting: one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make is choosing the right business partner. Choose wisely.
• It’s all about casting: one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make is who you hire. Choose wisely.
• Work in service to people you respect doing work you genuinely care about.
• Go where people you admire gather (preferably in person) and talk about things that are important. You’ll meet your next collaborators.
• Get clarity and speak it clearly. If you’re not clear about what you need and why it matters, it’s hard to inspire anyone else.
• Stay curious, humble and open. A beginner’s mind keeps you relevant.
• Measure the right things and make sure you can access that data when you need it.
• A little strategy goes a long way. Action without strategy is just throwing spaghetti at the wall. Strategy without action goes nowhere.
• Anger is a boundary set too late. When resentment creeps in, that’s the moment to name what you need and start a courageous conversation.
• Every courageous conversation must have a purpose, an outcome and a process (Thanks, Robert Gass, for this invaluable lesson).
• In Myers-Briggs terms, J’s (Alia) and P’s (Mark) often drive each other crazy, but when they learn to work together, they become a dream team of structure and possibility.
• When you start to lose heart, dogs help you find it again. Adopt one if you can.
• Trust is built the old-fashioned way: by doing what you say you’ll do.
• Two decades go by in a flash. Take time to notice the good moments as they come.

After 20 years, the biggest lesson is still simple: relationships — with donors, colleagues, clients, staff and partners — come first. At Sea Change, we sum it up in four words: we invest in people.

We’re deeply grateful to every collaborator who has taught us along the way. Here’s to the next chapter.