Seth Godin is one of the leading thinkers of our time. When I heard he was to be the special guest on the latest Network For Good NonProfit 911 call, I was sure to listen in. I've read just about all of his books, and have signed up in advance for his next book, Tribes, and am part of his Triiibes community. His insights will no doubt play a critical role, as I rapidly turn my vision into reality
Godin never disappoints with his unique and interesting ways to look at things. If you're not familiar with his work, then read his blog. It will open your eyes, and help you see things in a new way.
This call was no exception, in that many of the ideas Seth communicated were surely radical to many of the folks listening in. Most of the call attendees, I believe are individuals working in the non-profit sector. More specifically, I think it's likely that the majority of them were in fundraising roles.
As always, Godin helped us take a step back, and see the issue from a different angle. Good work there. However, in this case, I don't think just one step back was enough. I must admit, I was surprised. Had he zoomed out just a bit further, he would have touched on the concept of A Bigger Pie.
Perhaps he took ONLY one step back on purpose. Or, perhaps not. We'll have to ask him.
His focus was on getting these fundraisers to help "Flip The Funnel", and allow their existing supporters and donors to start doing much of the fundraising work for the organization, rather than having the organization do it themselves. It makes perfect sense if your perspective is from that of an individual organization.
But, from a macro perspective, who really cares if the American Cancer Soceity or the American Heart Association is doing a better job of fundraising? I mean, other than the employees, who cares?
Are we better off with more money going to ACS or AHA? I don't know that there's an answer to that, unless you have a horse in the race. If you're more at risk for cancer, perhaps you feel strongly about that. Or, maybe you had a relative that recently died of a heart attack, or that issue is particularly important to you for some other reason. But, for soceity as a whole, there is no right or wrong place to donate between those two, is there? Assuming they are operating at similar organizational efficiency, there is not.
As Godin says, donating to the American Cancer Soceity is safe...it's hard to criticize somebody for it. But, by the same token, if that person put their donation towards the American Heart Association, could you possibly call that a "bad decision"?
By encouraging groups to do something remarkable to get attention, and build relationships, which ultimately turn into more donations, Godin is giving each organization info they can use. And, it's very likely that if enough organizations implement these ideas effectively, the pie WILL get bigger, but only as a SIDE EFFECT.
Zooming out one click further, we can see that if we can increase the size of the pie, then the rewards to the companies that are doing a good job will be even greater. Plus, on a macro level, we will undoubtedly be better off if BOTH organizations raise more funds. this doesn't have to be a zero-sum game.
Let's shift our perspective from that of a non-profit fundraising employee to that of our soceity. If we do that, the main effect and side effect will also shift. From our new perspective, we can see that the pie is growing.
And, if the ACS or AHA get whooped in the fundraising marketplace by the Komen Breast Cancer Fund, or Habitat for Humanity, then so be it. If some groups don't catch on, let them lose out to the groups that "get it". Over time, there is no better way for an organization to grow and adapt (or die, if they cannot) than when they are forced to do so by competition.
My vision is to create the "portal" that will allow us to both:
- increase the size of the pie
- make it easier and more efficient for non-profits to get the message out, and fight for their share of pie
Remember here people, I'm not suggesting we create this competition, it already exists. We might as well recognize it.
What we need to do is level the playing field, make it easier and more efficient for groups large and small to compete, create more transparacy for donors, and most importantly, raise the sum level of incoming donations. If we can do all these things, we will end up with A BIGGER PIE.
And, that is good for everybody, regardless of which nonprofit you work for.