What Really Motivates a Donor?

When people reach out to me for fundraising support, especially leaders based in Africa, they are often hopeful. They are ready to bring their vision to life and raise the resources their communities deserve.

But then I tell them the truth:

If you want to raise money from donors in the U.S., you need one of two things: a 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation or a fiscal sponsor that can offer your donors a tax deduction.

That is usually when the mood shifts. I understand. It is frustrating. Discouraging. It can feel like yet another gatekeeping tool in a system that was not built for you. But here is what I always say next:

Donors don’t give because of tax receipts. They give because they believe in you.

Vaughan’s Story: A Promise, a Plan, a Community

Vaughan, a high school counselor, made her students a promise: if they met their academic goals by graduation, she would help them access scholarship funds. When she spoke those words in their freshman year, the goal felt far away. By senior year winter semester, the students had delivered. Vaughan had not raised a cent.

With no nonprofit status, no fiscal sponsor, and no formal infrastructure, she had only her word. Vaughan reached out to me for support. Together, we built a plan rooted in storytelling and consistency. She began emailing her network with weekly updates, sharing her “why,” making the ask, and following through.

It was not comfortable.

“I cringed at every email and text I had to send,” she told me.
“This took me way out of my comfort zone.”

Still, she kept showing up. Her updates landed like a steady heartbeat:

• “I’m at $3,460! So close!”

• “Just got a $750 donation. Unreal!”

• “We’ve raised $4,560, only $440 away from the goal!”

In less than two months, Vaughan reached her goal. She raised more than $5,000 from 28 individuals. To celebrate, someone from her network created college-themed hampers for each student.

Vaughan’s Students

Vaughan’s story proves that even without formal infrastructure, courage, consistency, and community can turn a promise into possibility.

Lilima Montessori: Strategy Meets Sustainability

Over the past year, Ndisu Consulting has partnered with Barbara Braun and the team at Lilima Montessori High School in Eswatini to move their fundraising from ad-hoc appeals toward a strategic, yearlong campaign.

With our support, Lilima has:

• Secured fiscal sponsorship with The Montessori Foundation, enabling U.S. tax-deductible giving and opening new donor pathways.

• Established a U.S. Fundraising Committee to extend their reach beyond Eswatini and build a community of support.

• Raised $3,000 in early gifts, laying the foundation for their next phase.

• Prepared their first $25,000 Annual Fund Campaign (We Are Lilima: Building an Inclusive Future Together), complete with a communications calendar, donor tiers rooted in local language, and stewardship tools.

Lilima’s story is not flashy. It is steady. It is relationship-driven. It shows how strategy, when paired with deep belief in the mission, sets the stage for sustainability.

For Lilima, sustainability will mean scholarships for low-income families, resources for neurodiverse learners, and the classrooms that will allow their campus to grow. For Ndisu, it means supporting founders like Barbara to move from survival fundraising to building a culture of philanthropy.

Even when the paperwork is in place, it is belief and the consistent, thoughtful stewardship of that belief that moves donors to act.

From Scarcity to Sovereignty

Vaughan’s courage and Lilima’s discipline tell us the same thing:
It is not legal status that unlocks generosity.
It is clarity.
It is consistency.
It is connection.

These are the values we build on at Ndisu, because real resource mobilization is not about chasing money. It is about helping people see themselves in your story and trust their part in it.