When I was in 5th grade, my mom signed me up for a pottery class at the local arts center. I recall loving those classes and the process of sculpting a ball of clay into a usable object (in my case, a lumpy trinket dish that my dad still keeps on his desk to this day). Fast forward to today: in an attempt to add some creativity to my life this winter, I decided to enroll myself in an 6-week wheel-throwing pottery class for beginners. While I can’t say I became an expert potter in that time (see photos below...), I was surprised to learn how much this messy, humbling, and joyful experience would remind me of the work we do as fundraisers. Here are four lessons pottery taught me about fundraising.
- Set Your Own Goals. In class, it was easy to glance over at someone else’s perfectlysymmetrical bowl and feel bummed at my apparent lack of skill. But as I looked back down at my lopsided “bowl,” I had to remind myself of my goals for this class: have fun, get messy, and meet new people. By those standards, I was doing exactly what I had set out to do. In fundraising, the same idea applies. Your organization’s mission, capacity, and audience are unique. What works for a national nonprofit with a full-time development staff might not work for your all-volunteer team—and that’s okay. Set goals that make sense for you and celebrate your wins along the way.
- Ask for Help. There’s a moment in pottery when your clay starts wobbling and you think, “I can fix this.” Spoiler alert: you probably can’t. And trying might make it worse. Asking my instructor for help didn’t just save my piece—it saved my sanity (thank you, Anna!). In fundraising, don’t wait until things get wobbly. Whether it’s a campaign that’s falling flat or a donor conversation you’re unsure how to have, reach out. Talk to a colleague, attend a webinar, or drop us a line at GiveMN—we’re here to help.
- Be Creative. The final day of class was devoted to glazing our pieces. After dutifully selecting, mixing, and applying nearly every shade of glaze to my ceramics, I felt like something was missing. With my instructor’s permission (again, Anna is the best), I rummaged through the containers of tools provided by the studio and found a raggedy old sponge with a weird pattern from heavy use. Perfect! I decided to use this to add extra glaze to some pieces and it ended up creating a super unique effect. Fundraising can be like this, too. Play with your storytelling. Try a new event format. Ask a volunteer to draft your next thank-you letter. Sometimes, creativity leads to innovation in the most unexpected ways.
- Look Up From Your Wheel It’s easy to get hyper-focused when you’re centering clay—or sending emails, writing grants, and planning appeals. But some of my favorite moments in class were when I looked up and saw the other students—laughing, helping each other, sharing ideas. Fundraising is all about building relationships. Don’t forget to connect with the people around you: your team, your donors, your community. That’s where the magic is. Plus, who knows – maybe they can teach you a thing or two about pottery!
Fundraising, like pottery, is both an art and a practice. It’s messy, rewarding, and deeply human. You won’t always get it right on the first try, but with intention, creativity, and community, you’ll make something beautiful.
P.S. Interested in more metaphors and fundraising tools? Explore our upcoming Learn-Alongs. These hour-long workshops led by our fundraising coaching team will help build your fundraising toolkit further and grow your confidence.