Do you give money away?

Who do you give it to?

Why do you give it to them?

What would make you want to give to our nonprofit?

Sincerely,

Mazarine

A fantastic post! Full of wisdom! Full of truth! Full of good counsel!

To begin with, I’m a huge fan of Seth Godin. I read his blog every day. So much of his marketing wisdom and savvy is completely transferable to the nonprofit advancement/philanthropy sector.

That should not surprise anyone, since Seth’s thinking process begins in the world of consumer-product/service marketing, and we in nonprofit advancement also are, after all, “selling” something! Seth knows and posits that fact as well.

I was reared professionally in the advancement school of thought that asserts the core, critical importance of constituency/relationship building, cultivation and management as the bedrock of successful fund raising. Consequently, I’ve remained focused on it all my professional life, and I’ve emphasized it for every client over the past 15 years.

I find essential value in Godin’s point that there is a “transparent wall, an ever bigger one, between digital spectators and direct interaction or transaction.” This is why I continue to believe that successful relationship-cultivation/management for nonprofits cannot be based principally or solely on contact through the ever-expanding social-media platforms. While helpful and useful, those platforms are not intimate enough on their own.

Even today, we still need to maintain person-to-person contact (through a variety of channels) with current and potential donors if we are to fan and fuel the fire of their steadfast commitment to the organization’s mission. At the same time, we need to be constantly in the research mode to understand how that dynamic works and advances for each individual we call a friend or investor.