“Phil psych has given me the green light to love people with abandon.”
For Beth Beall, relational fundraising is a calling.
As a visionary leader, Beth is Executive Director of Vida Joven, which helps orphaned children in Baja, Mexico. The charity began in response to the hundreds of children living in jails because they had nowhere to go when their fathers were imprisoned.
When Beth began at Vida Joven, she says she inherited a small group of “incredibly dedicated, faithful, generous people”.
“I just started paying attention to them... and the money just flowed so we grew pretty quickly,” she says.
Her natural bent towards relational fundraising led to her enrolling in the Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology course. She feels the coursework validated everything she instinctively did to fundraise.
“Now I had some research to back up what intuitively felt right. Philanthropic psychology (PhilPsych) gave me the intellectual validation to do what I do. It’s not just, ‘Oh, this is Beth’s opinion.’ I really am able to say to the board, ‘Hey, look, there’s this research that’s been done.’”
Whether it’s handwriting thank you notes, listening to donors or getting to know them as individuals, Beth has always been focused on the PhilPsych principle of growing love.
“On top of the research depth, PhilPsych has given me the green light to love people with abandon... to love big, to love bold.”
Boosting donor wellbeing through communications
Part of the PhilPsych way is helping donors to feel more connection, autonomy and competence — all drivers of wellbeing. Beth says her goal is to incorporate all three in every piece she writes for a donor.
“When I’m writing our appeals or a newsletter, I’m asking myself, ‘How am I giving people opportunities here to experience connection? How am I giving people opportunities here to exercise competence and autonomy... it’s all about helping people live out the fullness of their humanity,” she says.
“If people only read the photo captions, will they still get the story? Will they still understand how important they are to this unfolding story in the children’s lives? I’m constantly filtering every decision about a print newsletter asking, ‘Does this make someone feel like they belong? Does this make someone feel connected to the children or connected to this work? Does it make them feel connected to something positive in this really negative world?’”
PhilPsych also enables her to take a long-term view to fundraising.
“I want donors to know that what I value is their continued participation in this journey. If they say no to giving right now, they get to say no at this time. Because what really matters to me is their big yes to these children.”
Raising more through the PhilPsych way
The numbers speak for themselves. When Beth first started at Vida Joven, the charity was raising about $100,000 a year from 50 donors. Today, they’re expecting to raise up to $500,000 a year from 300 donors. They enjoy a donor retention rate of 70%, well above the sector average.
As a result, Vida Joven has expanded the mission from supporting one orphanage to partnering with nine orphanages. And Beth’s two-day a week role as Executive Director has expanded into full-time.
Beth says PhilPsych is all about inviting people into the freedom to love.
“Love means we give things away and in so doing, we find ourselves. You do the long slow work of building relationships. You find out what people’s desires are and why. Then you invite them to make what is for them a generous gift,” she says.
“It’s all fundraising, it’s all relationships, it’s all love, it’s all mission.”
This post was written by June Steward
Find out more about the Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology course that Beth took.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to one of the team at: hereforyou@philanthropy-institute.org.uk.