Fundraising vs. Manipulation in 2025
Photo by Katt Yukawa on Unsplash
Faced towards the sea
Looked to heaven up above
Felt the world revolve around me
No one could tell me otherwise
But the turbulent waters won't reflect this life
Only the sun, moon and sky
And all illusions shattered
All illusions shatter
Money's only paper, only ink
We'll destroy ourselves if we can't agree
How the world turns
Who made the sun
Who owns the sea
The world we know will fall piece by piece
– Tracy Chapman, Paper and Ink
On January 21st, the day after the presidential inauguration, I received a flood of invitations to give money and/or buy things. This was expected, as the desire to do something is strong right now; people feel strongly about the new administration and its impact on all areas of our life together.
Giving or buying out of a sense of rage, grief, sadness, hopefulness, excitement: these are all donor motivations. For years, researchers both in the for profit and nonprofit sectors have paid close attention to how people respond monetarily to current events.
I argue that naming the present moment and providing an opportunity to give can be a powerful and deeply meaningful pastoral response. For example, at the height of the pandemic, many people gave to organizations as they considered their own mortality and how they might make a meaningful impact. Giving in this way provided clarity and purpose in a time of disillusioning ambiguity.
Fundraising, as a component of stewardship, is a deeply pastoral ministry, one that requires attention to each individual’s context. If a community member was in the hospital, one would pay attention to their age, pronouns, gender, language spoken/understood, mental capacity, experience with the faith community, if another person should be in the room with you, etc. This attention to the needs of the individual ensures that the person receiving pastoral care can be reached in ways that can be heard and ways that are safe and life-giving. So too, fundraising as a pastoral ministry needs to reflect the needs of the moment, speaking to the person’s context (including donor motivations), and doing so in ways that are full of care for the individual’s mental, spiritual, emotional and physical safety.
The definition of the word manipulate by Merriam Webster is to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage.
As a lay theologian who works at the intersection of money, God, and institutions, I am often asked what is the difference between fundraising, as an element of stewardship, and manipulation. I think this is an incredibly important question—one that should be discussed far more frequently and with clearer boundaries provided.
In thinking about the definition of manipulation, outcomes always outweigh intent. While one’s intentions may be for good or at least not to do harm, the outcome of our actions ultimately are felt for generations to come.
One may intend to “squeeze just a bit more” for the sake of the Church and God with the intent of using funds for good, but ultimately questions need to be asked, “How am I meeting the needs of the person I am reaching by inviting them to give? Do they have agency and consent through transparent communication? Am I asking from a spirit of financial outcome or am I centering this individual in the work?”
When fundraising is ministry, lives are transformed in the giving of gifts to change and repair a broken world as we reconcile ourselves to God. However, when thinking about raising gifts and pledges, there is a temptation to fixate on the financial goal alone. When this is done, we miss an important point: the process of fundraising is itself a powerful and life-giving ministry.
In the Jewish tradition, there is a theology of charitable giving, Tikkum Olam, in which God gives us the ministry to repair or fix the world. In my own tradition, through the baptismal covenant, we commit our lives to reconciling ourselves to God, to one another, and creation.
When fundraising is used for repair, it matters how a person is asked.
This is the line between manipulation and fundraising. When we re-meet each other where we are and take a better look at ourselves in relation to our neighbors, we can create powerful new ways of being that repair broken systems, reinvigorate our giving and re-energize our faith.
