Dancing for a Cause: What Zumba Taught Me About Major Donor Cultivation
Major donor cultivation shares five principles with Zumba: authentic connection, consistent rhythm, real listening, proper warm-up conversations, and patience with each donor's own pace. Hannah Shepherd explains what each principle looks like in practice, and why fundraisers who rush any one of them tend to stall their pipeline.
Principle 1: Authentic connection
Firstly, both activities prioritise relationships & engagement over transactions. Zumba is not just exercise, it creates an energetic community where participants feel seen and valued. This is the aim for Major Gift fundraising, they aren't about one time asks, they are about building genuine long term relationships.
Principle 2: A consistent rhythm
In both fundraising and Zumba, energy & enthusiasm matter. The instructor's energy motivates people to stay engaged and a fundraiser's passion inspires donors to give and stay committed. To see results both activities require consistency & commitment. Both activities regular everyone involved to engage regularly and practice, well formed and consistent actions.
Principle 3: Listen and follow
Listening is key with Zumba and Major Donor Fundraising. When I stopped listening to the beat at the Zumbathon, I found myself dropping steps and getting distracted. The same goes for working with prospects or repeat donors. Listening to their motivations, interests and timings and working with their rhythm always leads to securing a gift. When I’ve got distracted by other people’s agendas or ignored a donor’s requirements, I’ve been less successful.
Principle 4: Always warm up first
It sometimes gets forgotten but a warm up is essential. If you jump into a high intensity sport like Zumba without loosening up muscles and joints, you might struggle to get through the session or worse injure yourself. With Major Donor Fundraising, you can’t jump straight to the ask – you need to warm up the relationship with the individual and after a gift offer a heartfelt you thank and stewardship options.
Principle 5: Everyone moves at their own pace
Major Donor Fundraising and Zumba are about creating joy and shared purpose. Both donors and Zumba participants come back because the get a sense of joy, a shared social activity and feel uplifted.
Finally, everyone moves at their own pace. Some Zumba participants go all in. Others modify moves. Some donors give quickly, others take years to feel ready to give, but all are part of a philanthropic journey.
My biggest takeaway:
Both require authentic connection, rhythm and persistence - and when done well, both leave everyone feeling uplifted and part of something bigger than themselves.
Find out where your major donor programme stands
Our free Major Donor Scorecard takes around 5 minutes and shows you exactly which areas of your programme are working and where the gaps are.