Recently, I attended a community foundation’s award ceremony.  They were announcing the grant recipients for the year, and my nonprofit client was receiving recognition.

I was so happy for the nonprofit’s staff, board members and volunteers. They had worked very hard on the application: gathering data, letters of support and quotes from past donors. They put in a lot of time and energy, and it resulted in the organization receiving a seven-figure gift.

Of course, the size of the grants dispersed was remarkable, but what made the biggest impression on me was the genuine joy of the people receiving the gifts on behalf of the nonprofits they served.

They had formed grassroots collaborations in the community to achieve something that, initially, probably felt like an impossible dream. Their excitement in having taken risks, going outside their comfort zones, putting forward their best efforts and seeing things come together … that was the biggest pay off.

Fundraising isn’t always about getting the seven-figure gift.  Sure, we need major gifts for big projects, but whether the gift is seven, six or five figures, the same work is required.

On reflection, I believe their pride and satisfaction would have been just as apparent, no matter the size of the gift.

I remember their long, hard conversations, over many months:

• Can we pull this off? Let’s decide before we begin.
• Are we qualified to receive this grant? Let’s be honest about the criteria.
• Who needs to be involved? Let’s make sure they’re all in, beforehand.
• Who’ll do what and what’s the timeline on finishing each task?
• Once the grant is “finished” who can we get to put fresh eyes on it?
• What’s the deadline for submission? Let’s have it ready two days before that!
• What’s our plan if we get turned down? We’ll call and thank them, anyway.
• What’s our plan if we receive the grant? We’ll call and thank them; and celebrate!

I’ll always remember that night of celebration as a tangible example of the power of philanthropy: When individuals pull together to accomplish something they couldn’t have achieved on their own.

But, don’t get me wrong, receiving a seven-figure gift was pretty great, too!