Bunch Ball Fundraising

My 3-year-old daughter recently started youth soccer, which means I’m becoming familiar with the phenomenon called “bunch ball.” For those who haven’t witnessed this firsthand, the scene is not hard to imagine: the ball traveling up and down the field surrounded by a dozen little Ronaldos, all jockeying for control.

I’ve found myself reflecting on bunch ball through the lens of organizational theory and nonprofit fundraising. And I realize that the symptoms of bunch ball bear a great deal of resemblance to the symptoms of a similar malady afflicting many nonprofit fundraising programs.