Nonprofits
Do You Have Nonprofit Navel-Gazing Syndrome?
Don't assume your donors share your view of the world.
Does your newsletter (and/or website) contain any of the following?
News about back-office staff.
Photo of well-heeled donor presenting a giant check to your organization.
Photos of people standing around (possibly holding wine glasses) at your fundraising event.
Articles whose sole purpose is to educate donors.
If you answered yes to any of these, your organization may suffer from Nonprofit Navel-Gazing Syndrome (NPNGS). This condition causes nonprofits to believe that their own understanding of the world must be shared by others—especially donors. This leads to a lack of respect for donors who “don’t get it.” This elitist attitude prevents effective fundraising.
The reality is that donors simply aren’t you. They’re less schooled in the fine points of what it takes to accomplish your mission. Their view of what you do is less nuanced than your view. They are drawn to simplistic, even incomplete descriptions of your work—and the strongest philosophical argument can leave them cold.
Organizations with advanced NPNGS sometimes don’t even want support from “deficient” donors. They come to believe that they can get new and “better” donors who will appreciate them at a deeper level.
The sad truth is, they inevitably learn that there are few donors willing to spend the time getting up to speed on them. (Fortunately, that doesn’t means they’re unwilling to give their money!)
Donors are interested in you because of what you help them do. You are their agent in their personal mission to make the world better. That should be the topic of all your fundraising. Not the inner workings of the organization. Not the accomplishments of notable others. Not the need for raised consciousness or philosophical buy-in.
Your top-notch staff, your wonderful events, your well-honed methodology, your superior mindset—all these things are part of your uniqueness and your ability to accomplish your mission. But donors aren’t much interested in that. They just want to give to achieve clear results they can understand. Swallow your pride and meet donors where they are.
Jeff Brooks is creative director at Merkle, a direct-response agency serving the nonprofit world. He blogs at the Donor Power Blog.
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COMMENTS
BY Nancy Schwartz
ON March 6, 2008 01:30 PM
Jeff, couldn’t have said it better (or funnier) myself. Really, nothing could be worse than yet another photo of folks standing around at an event.
It may work in the Sunday Styles section of The New York Times, but that’s a bit different. Those folks are celebrities of some sort or another, or socialites.
Your post should be used as a checklist of don’ts when nonprofits are planning and editing their newsletters, print or email.
Best,
Nancy
BY Arthur Fullerton
ON March 6, 2008 02:38 PM
Based on many successful years serving variously as a development director, chief operating officer, and as a board member in many different nonprofits, I disagree wholeheartedly with Mr. Brooks’ characterization of donor recognition as ineffective in fundraising. Publishing the photo of a donor giving a large contribution not only recognizes that donor, but also can inspire others to follow suit. Publishing photos of special events may seem like mere vanity, but in my experience the web pages with photos of events are some of the highest trafficked and shared pages as donors log on and send their friends to see photos of themselves and their friends celebrating together. This is social connectedness and is a prime reason why many donors are involved with the cause. Eliminating donor recognition and social connectedness is the real elitism. As for educating donors, advocacy organizations, or organizations with an advocacy component, have as an explicit part of their mission the education of donors and the larger community. This is not non profit navel gazing, but mission fulfillment.
Arthur Fullerton
BY Susan Sharma
ON March 7, 2008 09:26 PM
It would be wonderful if SSIR Blog can include more articles on Social Entrepreneurship. A social cause turned into a business is the best form of social innovation. It empowers people and creates more entrepreneurs. Fund raising in any form is definitely not part of this type of innovation.