Stop Chasing the Gold Medal: What Mikaela Shiffrin Teaches Us About Fundraising

Tom Iselin
Apr 25, 2019
3 min read

Updated: Dec 12, 2025

World Cup Ski Champion, Mikaela Shiffrin, provides a little insight into how she wins the big races and how you can raise more money by following her playbook. It's not about winning medals, it's about having fun with the process!

Stop Chasing the Gold Medal: What Mikaela Shiffrin Teaches Us About Fundraising

If you’ve ever listened to Mikaela Shiffrin talk about skiing, one thing becomes immediately clear: she is not obsessed with gold medals.

Yes, she wins them. A lot of them.But that’s not where her focus lives.

Shiffrin is relentlessly focused on the process — training, fundamentals, repetition, preparation, recovery, mindset, and flow. She understands something most people don’t: outcomes are a byproduct of process, not the other way around.

That lesson applies perfectly to fundraising.

Too many nonprofits fixate on fundraising goals — dollar targets, deadlines, thermometers, and dashboards — while neglecting the very process that produces sustainable giving in the first place.

If you want to raise more money, stop chasing the “gold medal” and start mastering the process.

Fundraising Is Not a Goal — It’s a Discipline

Fundraising goals are important. They provide direction and accountability. But when goals become the obsession, fundraisers start cutting corners.

They rush relationships.They send impersonal emails.They make awkward asks without trust.They focus on transactions instead of people.

Just like elite athletes, great fundraisers know the real work happens long before the moment of performance. Winning the race — or securing the gift — is simply the result of disciplined preparation.

The Fundraising “Process” That Actually Works

Elite fundraisers think less about how much they need to raise and more about how well they are stewarding relationships.

That process includes:

• Cultivating donors thoughtfully over time

• Understanding why donors care about the mission

• Learning donors’ personal interests, values, and passions

• Knowing donors’ philanthropic priorities and past giving experiences

• Creating trust through consistency and authenticity

Fundraising success isn’t accidental. It’s built through hundreds of small, intentional interactions that make donors feel seen, respected, and valued.

Make the Donor Experience Unexpectedly Pleasurable

One of the most overlooked parts of fundraising is the experience donors have with your organization.

Ask yourself:

• Is it easy to engage with us?• Do donors feel appreciated — genuinely — not generically?• Are we surprising them in positive ways?• Do interactions feel human, warm, and thoughtful?

Unexpectedly pleasurable experiences build loyalty.

A handwritten note.A thoughtful phone call with no ask.A behind-the-scenes story.An invitation to see impact firsthand.

These moments compound — just like training runs compound for an Olympic athlete.

Stop Rushing the Ask

Shiffrin doesn’t show up on race day hoping things magically come together.

She trusts her preparation.

Fundraisers should do the same.

When you’ve invested in relationships — when donors feel connected, informed, and valued — the ask becomes natural, not stressful. It feels like a continuation of a relationship, not an interruption.

Great fundraising doesn’t feel like pressure.It feels like alignment.

Key Takeaways

Fundraising success comes from mastering the process, not obsessing over the outcome. When fundraisers focus on donor relationships, motivations, personal interests, and experience, giving becomes a natural result. Just like elite athletes, nonprofits that commit to disciplined preparation outperform those chasing short-term wins.

Summary

Mikaela Shiffrin doesn’t chase medals — and fundraisers shouldn’t chase dollars.

When you focus on the process — cultivating relationships, understanding donors deeply, and creating meaningful, unexpectedly positive experiences — the results take care of themselves.

Master the process.Trust the work.And let the medals come when they’re earned.

Tom Iselin

Rated One of America’s Best Board Retreat

and Strategic Planning Facilitators

About the Author

Tom Iselin is recognized as one of America’s leading authorities on high-performance nonprofits. He has built nine sector-leading nonprofits and two software companies, written six books, sits on multiple boards, and has been rated one of America’s Best Board Retreat and Strategic Planning Facilitators. His work on nonprofit strategy, board leadership, and culture has been featured on CNN, Nightline, and in Newsweek.

Tom is the president of First Things First, a firm specializing in board retreats, strategic planning services, fundraising strategy, and executive coaching for nonprofit CEOs.

Board Retreats & Strategic Planning

If you’re looking for a board retreat facilitator or strategic planning facilitator who has been in the trenches and understands real-world nonprofit challenges, Tom can help your board gain clarity, build alignment, and create an actionable plan that improves performance and impact. His sessions propel organizations to the next level of performance and impact . . . and they're fun!

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