Ready to revolutionize your fundraising? This interactive session reveals how well-intentioned language -"at-risk youth," "underserved communities," "vulnerable populations" - unintentionally reinforces the inequities you're fighting against. We'll explore the cognitive science behind why deficit narratives persist: intuition over rational thinking, negativity bias, and fundamental attribution error that creeps into our storytelling.

Through real examples and hands-on exercises, you'll learn to identify deficit-framed language in your communications and replace it with asset-based alternatives that honor community strengths and explicitly name systemic causes of inequality. Discover how small but powerful language tweaks shift donors from external saviors to community collaborators.

You'll leave with concrete tools: before/after messaging examples, transformational vs. transactional fundraising frameworks, and strategies for reframing "overhead" as "core mission support." Learn to craft ethical narratives that foster belonging rather than othering, unlock deeper donor conversations, and create lasting collaborations, all without jeopardizing funding relationships.

Learning Questions:  How do you shift from deficit-framed fundraising language that positions communities as problems to solve and donors as the heroes who save them, to asset-based language that centers dignity and agency and levels power dynamics? Participants will learn to identify deficit language in their communications, understand the cognitive biases that perpetuate these patterns, and apply practical frameworks for transformation. You'll discover how to craft ethical narratives that honor community strengths, reframe "overhead" as mission-critical support, and engage donors in deeper conversations about systemic change - without jeopardizing funding relationships.