There Are No Perfect Charities
Marketing maven Seth Godin just posted Which Charity?
In his article, he poses a series of questions that he suggests might help a prospective donor zero in on just the right charity to receive his/her benevolence.
Two of his questions reinforce the notion that donations are really about individuals expressing themselves …
- “Is this donation anonymous? If it’s not, who will you choose to tell? Does their reaction matter?”
- “What story do you tell yourself about you and your giving?”
Godin goes on to conclude: “There are no perfect charities, just as there are no perfect cars. But the imperfection of cars doesn’t keep us from buying one–we pick the model (and the story that goes with it) that best serves our needs.”
However, I would go a step further.
If a donor is enthusiastic enough to tell your story as part of his or hers, then your charity is indeed the perfect charity for that donor.
I hope your charity is perfect for someone! Further, I hope you know who that someone is and how to ‘bottle’ their sentiment for export.
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
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