Frankly, I can’t think of a more appropriate summary of the "fundraising pyramid" debate than this observation by the famed New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra:

“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”

Fundraising is a craft unencumbered by much basic “theology”, but one loaded with lots of philosophy and myth around its practices. So when a fundamental tenet of the fundraiser’s creed –The Pyramid – is brought into question, accusations of heresy and infidelity fly back and forth, and schisms result.

Thus we end up divided among congregants who belong to the original “Church of the Pyramid”, those who have splintered and founded the “First Reformed Church of the Trapezoid”, the “Second Reformed Church of Wheel” and so forth.

The importance of the concept, regardless of the geometric preference used to describe it, is that it enables each of us to organize our body of knowledge and experience in ways that help guide us to more effective planning, action and results.

In short, each layer of the pyramid, level of the trapezoid, or degree of the wheel provides a way of focusing on the critical elements of successful fundraising: “Who”, “What”, “When”, “Where” and “Why.”

Make no mistake. The reason the “pyramid is dead” debate occurs with regularity is that times do change: donors change, social needs and priorities change, and technologies change. So, when the effects of change become apparent in the bottom line, theories and practices are re-evaluated – as they should be. Practice seems to be flying in face of theory and so the tendency is to challenge the theory.

Appropriately, “change” once again has us bouncing off the walls in an effort to understand and explain what’s happening. The older generation of donors has given way to the next generation … old social norms of “loyalty”, “accountability” and “acceptance” and “economic stability” have changed … and technology is accelerating the pace of change at warp speed.

Meanwhile, some things don’t change much. Boards still expect fundraisers to “meet the numbers” … finance directors continue to want more income at lower cost … and everyone is wondering whether and when the magic promise of the New, New Thing – like social media – will deliver to the bottom line.

I started my career in the era of the Addressograph Plate, and continue to be energized and fascinated by it, even as we move through the technological strata of today’s Twitter Twaddle, where amputated ideas and appeals can be delivered instantly.

So, it would be mighty easy to assure fellow fundraisers that all this technological change — and most importantly the social change it has wrought — is simply more of the same old, same old change we’ve always had to deal with.

I don’t believe that for a moment!

It’s not the Pyramid/Trapezoid/Wheel that’s not working. Rather it’s blindly taking old-school practices and mechanically applying them to new-school technologies – such as CRM, analytics, and behavioral targeting – and hoping for “Eureka!” results.

I do believe that we are at a point where the new technologies and processes, which have been around long enough for people to think “these will never work”, are about to kick in.

In the words of Bill Gates: “We overestimate the future in the short-term and underestimate it in the long-term.”

The Pyramid Is Dead. Long Live the Pyramid!

Roger

P.S.   Tomorrow and Wednesday I’ll explore the critical “Who”, “What”, “When”, “Where” and “Why” elements of today’s and tomorrow’s successful fundraising, and some of the tools and practices available to almost every organization, regardless of size … and regardless of your pyramid orthodoxy.