At the end of the day all marketing efforts live or die by execution and innovation. Fundraising is no exception. A number of readers, most recently Mike Browne have requested we revisit the issue of innovation. So, starting with this post–What’s Your Innovation Quotient—  here’s what The Agitator has had to say. We’ll begin with a post from Tom from April of 2013

                 -The Editors

By Tom Belford   |    April 26, 2013

Here’s an article —Teaching The Old Dog Some New Tricks—  — that caught my attention simply because of its opening teaser line …

“Business has only two functions: marketing and innovation.”

Now, the author isn’t sure whether he’s quoting management guru Peter Drucker or novelist Milan Kundera, but no matter.

Personally, I think it’s a meaty statement.

First of all, even the strongest of businesses must innovate or die. That applies to nonprofits as well as our for-profit brethren.

   I hope we have no disagreement there. That’s the message Roger was delivering in his recent post—The Courage to Change  —        about the American Cancer Society and its disengagement from direct mail acquisition.

[ Editors’ Note: According to our sources the Society will give a candid update on the results of that decision at the DMANF August conference in New York this week. We’ll update you on that shortly. ]

Second, the point about marketing.

When I was interviewing years ago for the top marketing/communications job at Environmental Defense, the then-chairman, a former top corporate CEO, told me that as far as he was concerned, a marketer should have his/her hand in everything the organization does … including, in the case at hand, the program (i.e., the product). “Don’t let them tell you what to sell.”

That totally suited my view of things and was exactly what I wanted to hear. [Maybe he knew that!]

I was offered and took the job.

And soon a major donor plunked a sizable chunk on money on the table as an ‘R&D’ fund for our fundraising program. No better invitation to innovate than that!

So maybe I’ve had a charmed life. These two guys said in effect … ‘marketing rules’ and ‘go innovate’.

I was given the room and the means to innovate.

I’d say my Innovation Quotient (made up of one-third desire, one-third mandate and one-third means) in that job was 100 on a scale of 0-100.

What’s your Innovation Quotient? And what can you do to improve it?

Tom

P.S. Another Editors’ Note: Do yourself a favor and read the comments triggered by the original post here.

AND A REMINDER. 

The DMA’s Nonprofit Federation’s 2015 New York Fundraising Conference opens tomorrow at the New York Hilton in New York City.  I’m particularly interested in an August 5th report by the American Cancer Society on how their decision three years ago to suspend direct mail acquisition…stop the use of direct mail for non-dm acquired donors…and remove the ACS list of donors from all exchange universes.  That move created lots of eyeball-rolling and naysaying back then.

You can get a front row seat on the update by ACS staff and consultants at 11:15 on August 5th.  Reserve you place here.

In case you can’t make it The Agitator we’ll summarize the session next week.