Few nonprofits operate from a clear understanding of which donors find them valuable. And fewer possess a refined and articulated understanding of their worthiness that inspires donor loyalty and advocacy. The equation is essential for all nonprofits and donors to understand and pursue, as we move into this rich season of giving.
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“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. “ — Albert Einstein
“Though the funny thing about never being asked for anything is that after a while you start to feel like maybe you don’t have anything worth giving.” — Lev Grossman
These two quotes from a brilliant scientist and a prolific author summarize the totality of the nonprofit/donor experience. Despite years of research by major think-tanks on the faces of donors and what makes donors tick, it truly only comes down to these two things: value and worth.
Few nonprofits operate from a clear understanding of which donors find them valuable. And fewer possess a refined and articulated understanding of their worthiness that inspires donor loyalty and advocacy. The equation is essential for all nonprofits and donors to understand and pursue, as we move into this rich season of giving.
Value
Value is ground zero for engaging any donor or volunteer to your organization. Without passing the value concern, the worth question becomes meaningless.
Value is simply the determination by a person, organization or company that what you do is what they care about. Using this equation we realize that not everyone is a prospective partner in philanthropy, program or vocation to your organization.
Only those who value our mission and impact are going to be moved to invest their time, treasure and talent to our work.
For the nonprofit, this means that there are only very specific people, grants or sponsorships that will make themselves available. And for the donor or volunteer, it means that not every nonprofit will meet your philanthropic interests.
Discerning what alignment in value exists is a necessary consideration for both nonprofit and donor. If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it.
Worth
To be worthy and trustworthy is to have purpose, success and integrity. As a nonprofit we prove our worthiness to our donors by our outcomes. When we promise to achieve a goal, when we set a strategy and produce deliverables, when we prove that what we do matters, then we are deemed worthy. No organization can survive without passing the worthiness test.
And this is also true for the donor. Being worthy of a position on a donor roll, of being retained in a board seat or being relied upon to lead in the organization is an earned merit.
In addition, being trustworthy is paramount to a nonprofit attracting and retaining support and advocacy. Trustworthiness is the sole outcome of transparency. And transparency to build trustworthiness only works if your organization is making strategic and innovative decisions on mission efforts with care.
As a donor, trustworthiness begins and ends with dependability. Have you done what you promised as a board member? Have you been reliable as a donor? For a nonprofit, having trustworthy donors and volunteers is an essential pillar of support, one upon which they bank their whole program outcomes.
Sondra Lintelmann Dellaripa is the president and principal consultant of Middletown-based Harvest Development Group, a nonprofit consulting firm.
