This morning several from Ambassador's marketing team joined Seth Godin for a fascinating nonprofit webinar: How to become a Linchpin in Your Organization -- what it means to be indispensable and do work that matters. We learned not only about what's going on inside the mind of a donor, but what it could mean for your nonprofit organization.
My name is "Donor" and I have a message for you:
- I don't want to follow a factory where the goal is "output." I want to be a part of a tribe where the goal is "community and "influence."
- Because of the internet your job is a thousand times more powerful. It can help you organize a tribe--to connect with me and my friends all the time for free.
- Being part of a tribe is a part of human nature. It used to be unheard of not to share your food, time and money. The internet is helping bring us back to tribe mentality.
- The reason people like me give money to charities has everything to do with how my peers think about me, how I think about myself, the stories I tell and the stories I tell you.
- I can tell if you're like everybody else. You're primary goal should not be to never hear criticism from me.
- Do work that is so powerful that I will want to contact you before you ever know my name.
- The web is not just a cheaper way to advertise. I'm connected to Groupon -- the fastest growing company in the world - not because it's important to them, but because it's important to me.
- I don't fund organizations that are boring. What can you develop for me that I would miss if it were gone?
- Each day I scan the web for what's unexpected, personal and artistic. Am I finding this from you?
- When encountering organizations I'm always asking: "Who do I believe in?" "What is the purpose?" "Where is the hope?"
- The internet has trained me not to be as interested in traditional fundraising mechanisms.
- You can leverage my trust if you've earned it.
- The rule of Candyland, "Pick your card and do what it says" is not the rule of non-profit organizations (and linchpins) today! I can tell if you're playing the game.
- If you really care about the vision and mission of your organization you will not apologize for creating a revolution.
- If I see you on Oprah I may give you $20, but then I'm gone a few months later. You can't build a relationship with me that way.
- I'm more vested in your organization by reading your content-rich blog than following your entertaining tweets.
- I don't want to just give you cash -- I also want to give you my time and energy. Do you give me an opportunity to do that? Habitat for Humanity does.
- I can tell you're doing a dozen things mediocre. Drop nine and wow me with three. Seth Godin doesn't use Twitter because he knows he'd need 2 hours a day to do it well.
- Your factory can have too many linchpins. Your tribe cannot.
- What would happen if you were never allowed to get a new donor? Would you talk to me differently?
So what do you think? Do donors ask for too much? Is creating and managing a tribe worth it to your organization?
We highly recommend reading Seth Godin's Linchpin and Tribes for further perspective!
Katie Burke
Ambassador: We Connect. Ministry and Media.
