After decades of fighting, Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland agreed to a peace deal September 25, 2005. Let's celebrate peace - how often do we have a chance to do that? But today, let's celebrate listening.

Before the announcement of disarmament, negotiators had to sit down with each other, "terrorists" across the table from "occupiers." Everyone in that room, probably, had uncles or cousins who had been killed in the fighting. Months were devoted to discussions about how to heal Ireland. 

But the peace making began long before the negotiations started. There were intermediaries who met with the factions separately. What would it take for you to come to the table, they asked. What would it take for you to negotiate in good faith with your adversary? What would it take to put away your weapons? There was a lot of listening before people got to that table.

What does peace in Northern Ireland have to do with fund raising?

It's all about creating a space for risk-taking.

It is common knowledge that a capital campaign begins with "the quiet phase," where gifts from the top donors are solicited. It's quiet because it precedes the public announcement of the campaign's goal. But what about before the quiet phase?

Before the quiet phase is the listening phase. Listen to the visionaries in your organization, those who are impatient with trying to get back to "normal" - whatever that was. Listen to the experts who know what is happening in the landscape where you work. Listen to your top donors.  If they are willing to tell you how they feel about the impact they want to have with their gifts, every word is precious.