A lot of nonprofits have extremely aggressive growth goals. And that's great, because the need for their work is huge.
They want more donors. And they want donors who will do more.
But there's a problem: They are unwilling -- or unable -- to give more to donors.
That's why, in most cases, they are not going to accomplish their goals.
Because if you want more donors -- and especially if you want more from donors -- you're going to have to give more to donors. More choices, more say in how their money goes to work, more reporting back on what they've accomplished through you, more programs that make their hearts soar.
The traditional arm's-length approach to donors -- where they obediently furnish us with money so we can spend it as we see fit -- is getting less viable all the time.
There are plenty of donors out there. Their ranks are growing, and soon there will be more donors than there have ever been. But they're going to ignore us if we keep ignoring them.
The same old approach isn't even going to get the same old results. We're not just going to have to change if we want to meet ambitious goals. We're going to have to change if we intend to survive.
