The James

My husband loves to work out. It’s his happy place. In fact, if he doesn’t go to the gym at least three times a week, he gets grumpy. Like really grumpy. We don’t let that happen. In fact, we jokingly call the gym The James—because he takes it that seriously.

So, when I started working out with him, I was a little worried. I don’t take it seriously. My gym would never be called The James. It might be The Jimmy or even The Jimbo, but not The James. We both simply work out for different reasons. He does it for the health of it. I do it so I can eat more snacks. Oddly enough, those differences really don’t matter much. We enter the same door and use the same equipment to get the outcome we’re each looking for, albeit different. Generosity works much the same way.

When it comes to philanthropy, it really doesn’t matter why people choose to give. I know for some of you that’s a hard pill to swallow. You want to believe that people are truly generous and giving out of the love of their hearts. And some are! But some are seeking a tax deduction or want the fanfare that having their name on a building can bring. There are a variety of reasons people give and, frankly, those deep-down reasons aren’t necessarily any of our business. We can still do a lot of good with all the dollars given…no matter the motive—that’s our business!

I had to a laugh recently when I was listening to Taylor Swift’s Song, Anti-Hero, where she sings:

“Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism like some kind of congressman?”
 No wonder the chorus says, “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.”

Whether people, or donors specifically, are as self-aware as Taylor Swift isn’t important.
What is important is that we take our jobs as seriously as my husband takes going to The James.

When you think about using your logical left brain, that means you must use clear strategies to meet your donors where they are—all of them. Yes, some donors are 100% altruistic. They hear your story about how you were able to utilize the generosity of others to improve the quality of someone’s life, or even a community, and it pulls at their heartstrings and makes them want to be a part of the solution. And telling those stories is a quality, effective strategy—but it doesn't work for everyone.

Some donors might like the story, and even believe in your mission, but they need to know how their tax deduction will benefit them financially. And there might even be donors who don’t even care much about your story at all. That's hard to hear, isn't it? Perhaps they’re contributing for other reasons like peer pressure, ego, or visibility. And you need to be ok with that, too.

As a nonprofit fundraiser you need to market all the benefits that giving through your organization can bring. For example, highlight charitable bunching so the donor can take full advantage of a tax-deduction isn’t as fun to talk about as changing the life of a family moving into their first Habitat house…I get it. But you can embrace the tool that charitable bunching is and forget fretting about the fact that the donor just needed that tax-deduction, then you’ll raise a lot more money.

When it comes to your left brain marketing methods, a quote I recently heard from author of Atomic Habits, James Clear came to mind. He said, “Goals are for people who care about winning once. Systems are for people who care about winning repeatedly.” This is why you never want to set a monetary fundraising goal for yourself annually. There are too many variables out of your control. You never know when people will pass away who have left their estate to you, when kids will go off to college, when marriages and divorces will happen, or when a business will be bought or sold. All those things could mean a fundraising windfall or a fundraising drought.

But you can create a solid system for who you will market to, when you will send marketing, what message you will send, and how you’d like them to respond. If you plan this out one full year in advance, you’ll be sure to strike a good balance of stories that move people to help others and methods to give that benefit the donor directly. Not knowing exactly why someone chooses to give means you need to cover all your bases. You can do that with a system. After all, according to James Clear, that system will help you win repeatedly.

Yeah, the hubs and I have very different reasons for going to The James or in my case The Jimmy. But that doesn’t mean we don’t both get the results we’re looking for. We both enter the same doors and use the same equipment to get our desired, though remarkably different, results. Give your donors similar choices. Let go of any judgement you might have about why they are giving and simply concentrate on developing a system that will encourage all people to give no matter their motive. Then, take those varied donations given—by donors, Taylor Swift, or even a named congressman—to change your community for the better. Because no matter how you got there, that was the result you were seeking!

 All My Best,

Dawn
[email protected]
dawn brown creative, llc.