Who Cares If They’re Effective?!
Over at Tactical Philanthropy Sean Stannard-Stockton relates a conversation in which a major foundation grantmaker told him it was a primary value of the foundation to not harm grantees.
The context was Sean asking whether philanthropists should speak out about nonprofits they considered to be ineffective.
What a remarkable position for a grantmaker to take, effectively … "even if they suck, we love them!"
That grantmaker oughta be fired.
It’s bad enough that hard-working, ethical, well-performing nonprofits must be saddled with public cynicism generated by the scum "charities" … the paper ones that live to rip-off donors by throwing most of their income into salaries and controlled marketing vendors.
These practices and charities pull down the reputation of the entire sector … and provide plenty of fodder for tabloid-level coverage of the charity/nonprofit world. So we have plenty of pinhead coverage of "fundraising efficiencies" and breathless reporting of outright scams.
But then compound this trust-busting by evidencing to the public an attitude that performance doesn’t matter. After all, we’re all doing god’s work.
Performance does matter. The problems are too big to be addressed even remotely by the philanthropic monies on the table. There’s not a dollar to spare. Consequently, there’s certainly not a dollar to spare on nonprofits that are ineffective.
In fact, there’s not a dollar to spare on nonprofits that are just "OK" in comparison to others in their field who are superlative.
The nonprofit world has proven remarkably resistant to Darwinian natural selection …survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, that’s in part because of the muddle-headed attitude of too many old-school grantmakers and donors like the one cited by Sean.
We need much more attention to performance and, while one-size-fits-all metrics aren’t appropriate, we need far more rigor in assessment and transparency in sharing those assessments.
Letting a thousand flowers bloom has turned into an impossible to penetrate or manage infestation of weeds.
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
Read Full Answer
I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
Read Full Answer
Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
Read Full Answer
Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
Read Full Answer
There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
Read Full Answer
I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
Read Full Answer