If you fundraise within the disability community, you might be wondering how to best connect with a person living with a chronic disabling condition. Chances are that you interact in your personal or professional life somewhat regularly with the disability community. How comfortable are you with that interaction?
According to the World Report on Disability, one billion people live with some form of disability, making up around 15% of the global population.
That’s the thrust of the session “Empowering Communication Strategies Within The Disability Sector,” presented by Kyra Millich, major gifts officer of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a person with a disability as someone who:
* Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
* Has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission); or,
* Is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).
As a fundraiser, your job is to understand the perspective of potential donors by shifting the lens of authentic attention via listening and open-ended questions — at the right place and at the right time — to become partners and allies in improving the world. This might appear as a particularly nuanced task when interacting with someone who has a disability.
Millich provided a few guidelines to help communicate in a manner that leaves all parties feeling understood, inspired and empowered.
The Power Of Curiosity To Overcome Unconscious Bias: The first step is to recognize the possibility that your approach might be wrong. As a professional in a philanthropic society that prioritizes inclusion and strives toward egalitarianism, you might think you are objectively taking in information, but the truth is, a majority of how you process information occurs outside of your conscious awareness or control.
Humans have a natural tendency to sort people into groups based on characteristics such as disability, gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religion. It’s how you move through the world: these unconscious responses allow your brain to process vast amounts of information about people you encounter at lightning speed.
However, the resulting judgements, decisions, and actions toward demographic groups result in unequal outcomes. For example:
- Do you feel a connection to those you perceive as similar to you?
- Do you have stereotypes or assumptions about specific groups?
- Do you project positive qualities onto people without knowing them?
- Do you look for proof to confirm your own opinions and pre-existing ideas about someone?
How To Move Through Unconscious Bias: The good news is that your brain, and your unconscious biases, are malleable. Once you acknowledge their existence, you can take steps — led by curiosity — to minimize how often they are activated and to reduce their effect on your actions.
When you meet someone, activate your strong desire to know the person — by learning about the person first — rather than seeing their disability first. Every person has a host of experiences and interests in addition to their disability. Who is that person? What change is longing to happen in the world for them, and how might your organization fulfill that vision? You’ll find that curiosity is a powerful communication tool that will increase awareness and improve relationships.
10 Suggested Actions
- Focus on their individual interests, characteristics and preferences rather than stereotypes. Rather than focus on differences, focus on what you have in common. What aspects of your organization are of appeal to them and why exactly?
- Get to know them one-on-one. Consider the attributes of the person apart from their group and be mindful of your assumptions. For instance, when you meet someone who is in a wheelchair, do you see their wheelchair before the person? Do you think a person must be unhappy because they are disabled in some way? Do you believe a person that slurs or has cerebral palsy must be cognitively compromised?
- If you aren’t sure how to engage, ask the person. Would the person in a wheelchair prefer that you sit in a chair rather than standing while you are talking? Chances are they’ll appreciate the offer not to crane their neck up.
- Do your research to counter your stereotypes about disabled people. Focus on what they can do instead of what they can not do. A blind person may experience much more than you ever knew possible without sight.
- Consider the perspective of the individual regarding how they feel about adaptive techniques they utilize to successfully function. Does society provide accommodations to meet those adaptations? Do you wear headsets for Zoom calls to accommodate the hearing impaired? Does your gala have entrances and bathrooms that accommodate someone using adaptable equipment? Is there a quiet place for someone to retreat to if there are flashing lights that might trigger a reaction?
- Consider a person’s perspective in an encounter where someone raises their voice, or keeps their distance, or speaks to their more able-bodied-in-appearance companion instead of them. How would you feel?
- Rather than speak for the person, ask for their input. And determine how they’d like to be identified. Does that person prefer to be identified as: a) a person living with a disability; b) a disabled person; or c) a person? Ask them. Opinions differ.
- Reflect on which of your perceptions and actions are worthy of a more thoughtful consideration than your initial biases.
- As a colleague, call others out in a respectful manner, rather than say nothing. Engage in curiosity and specifics, i.e. “why do you assume he won’t be able to do that?” Brainstorm about actions that can be taken to be more inclusive or understanding rather than assuming there is nothing that can be done because “that’s just the way it is.”
- Engage in training about implicit biases, stigmas and disability ableism. Consider the ways in which we have been programmed to see disability as something bad, or which makes us uncomfortable, or as something that needs to be “fixed” for that person to live a full and engaging life.
And, do all of this again and again and again.
