Almost everyone thinks your organization is a fraud.
At least, that should be your working assumption. Years of stupid charity scandals (plus media-hyped non-scandals about charity salaries and other bogus topics) have caused a lot of people to distrust the nonprofit sector in general.
That includes you.
It's one of the main reasons people don't donate: They think you'll either rip them off or incompetently fritter away their generosity.
Earning the trust of your donors should be one of your top priorities.
Here are some things not to do, from the Bloomerang blog, at 10 Ways to Damage Donor Trust:
- A slow gift acknowledgement
- A lack of personalized communications
- Ignoring communication preferences
- Surveying, and ignoring the response
- Not offering opportunities to support specific projects of funds
- Not reporting on campaign, project or fund results
- Not recording meeting details (after meetings with donors)
- Recognizing donations, but not volunteerism
- Treating referrals poorly
- Not associating a gift from my business, family foundation or charitable giving fund to me
And this: Don't have a scandal! Don't hire someone who will. Don't work with partners who will lead you astray!
