How Marie Ringler Fundraises: If You See It As Selling, You’ve Already Lost

Editor’s Note: Today is Giving Tuesday, so we’re doing things a little differently. Instead of a How I Sell featuring a salesperson, we’re doing a How I Fundraise with a nonprofit leader who has raised millions for worthy causes – interestingly, nearly all of her learnings apply to sales.

When Marie Ringler entered middle school in the late 1980s in Austria, craft classes were segregated.

Boys had classes on building bridges and engineering. Girls had classes on sewing and knitting.

This made no sense to young Marie.

“But what if I want to learn how to build bridges,” she said. “And shouldn’t everyone learn how to sew?”

So, backed by her mother, she argued to end this segregation. And won! The school revised the policy so now boys and girls alike could sign up for the classes they wanted to attend.

That was Marie’s first time successfully advocating for change. Subconsciously, a seed was planted.

“It was this idea that something fundamentally unfair could be righted,” Marie said. “It stuck with me.”

It has indeed. Marie’s entire career has been in nonprofits, advocating for making the unfair fair and giving a voice to the voiceless. Today, she’s a Global Leadership Group Member for Ashoka, a nonprofit dedicated to turning the world’s population into “Changemakers” – aka a person that sees themselves as capable of creating positive change for the good of all.

As part of her job, she must fundraise. What’s interesting is fundraising isn’t too much different than selling – it’s about identifying the right people, at the right time, with a message that’ll resonate with them (she even uses Sales Navigator to do it!).

So, how does Marie fundraise? How is the world changing, and how is she reacting to that change? And what’s her biggest piece of fundraising advice?

We asked her all of that and more in a special edition of How I Sell:

1. What motivates you each day, even when you aren't feeling it?

When I look around me, I see a world on fire.

I see war, discrimination, inequality, strife, and climate change. I see a world that is in need of Changemakers, people who are willing to lead and make this world a better place.

So, if I’m just not feeling it that day, I think about that. 

2. What's your fundraising philosophy, in 3 sentences or less? 

If you see it as selling, you’ve already lost.

It’s about finding people who share your vision and want to take a leadership role in change. And it’s not just about money – people can give in so many ways, whether it be their money or their time or their resources or their talent, and make a fundamental change to this world.

3. How are you seeing fundraising changing today, and how are you coaching your team to adapt to that change? 

What I’m seeing is this move away from the traditional form of giving and a bigger emphasis on making systemic changes.

For example, the traditional way of giving was seeing a homeless person on a cold night and giving them a blanket. But, the new form of giving is about addressing the root of the problem, so it isn’t just about making one homeless person warm for the night but eradicating the problem of homelessness completely.

Today, with limited resources, people don’t just want to fix symptoms. They want to fix problems at their root, so we create a better world faster.

4. What excites you most about the future of fundraising? 

Because I’m seeing a world that’s on fire, I believe more and more people want to give and want to lead. I’m excited about that, because it means more people taking responsibility for the future of this world.

My hope is that at dinner parties, the conversation drifts away from what new items we bought or if someone has a summer home or a new car. And instead, the questions are about how each person contributed to creating a better world.

5. What's the best piece of fundraising advice you've ever received?

Never be afraid to ask.

I learned this from my husband. If you believe in what you do, you need to make the ask.

Because you can have a great organization and be doing great things, but people won’t give unless you make the ask. So, never be afraid to ask.

6. How do you use LinkedIn to fundraise?

We use LinkedIn and Sales Navigator extensively to build pipeline and to help me understand who I’m talking to.

Primarily, it’s about finding the right people to talk with, and then understanding that person before I meet with them.

7. Is there any habit you have outside of work that you believe helps you perform better?

I do; I have a daily meditation and yoga practice.

What it does for me is give me energy, clarity, and focus. That allows me to do my best work.

8. What has been your biggest failure working in nonprofits and how did that experience transform you? 

It’s that you can never get complacent.

If you are fundraising and you have one big partner, even if that funder has committed to giving to you for years, it’s not enough. You can’t always rely on that, things change.

Instead, you need to diversify, you need to always find new partners. Because once you get complacent, you put yourself in a situation where you become dependent on what you already have, and that can be a risky situation to be in.

So, always be seeking out new sources. 

Learn more about Giving Tuesday here. And learn more about how LinkedIn is giving away a free 1-year Sales Navigator Core subscription to 20,000 eligible global nonprofit professionals here.