Donor Fatigue, Part 3 |
Aug 8, 2009 |
All systems with donors decay. All systems suffer from entropy. Your best moves plans, reports, and even measurables are not enough to have a deep connection with donors.
Why? Because giving is a heart issue, and no system created can capture and fulfill deep heart issues.
Donors need more than a newsletter to feel connected. They need to engage in the cause so that the act of engagement does more than just transact money. It needs to feed those deepest heart desires. This means that donors who only cut checks but never engage at a personal level are vulnerable to disconnect, but those who find ways to connect beyond a cash transaction are the donors who sink deep roots into the cause and become lifelong donors to the cause.
This does not mean that only donors who volunteer or serve alongside you will connect deeply. Those who volunteer do connect more deeply, but the truth is that donors don’t really need you the nonprofit. You need them. I am not talking about money. You need these donors to be carriers of your shared vision in their sphere of influence. Donors can become champions of the cause 24/7 right where they live. A donor who carries the same vision you do and who is just as passionate about your cause can have an incredible impact. These kinds of donors never grow fatigued. In fact, these people can run your events, lead campaigns, serve in your programs, and carry your shared vision to their neighbor across the street or a partner across the globe.
This is the very heart of Transformational Giving. It is a intentional model to engage donors in the cause so they experience greater joy and meaning in life. One of the best outcomes of this model is that it has built in, natural defenses against philentropy, because the donor is not deriving value from a gift transaction but they are engaging in a transformational process that is deeply personal and that makes for a more connected donor.
To overcome philentropy, think of philanthropy from another perspective: God is the ultimate Philanthropist.
He never suffers from philentropy, even though he never receives an annual report or a newsletter, and he sees little ROI. Most of his clients rarely ever even take time to visit or talk to him.
If any donor should suffer from philentropy, it is God, but he does not show any signs of loving or giving less. He gives because it is His nature to love and to give. His love for mankind never grows fatigued and he keeps on giving perfect, everlasting gifts.
Why do I hold God as the gold standard of Philanthropy?
We need to help grow donors to be like God not like ATMs. When giving becomes part of one’s nature then giving is not impacted by philentropy. Our job is to grow givers not transact gifts through transformationless techniques.
Giving is so much more than a transaction. Giving is a heart issue and we have to learn how to work with donors at the heart level. In fact, part of our job as nonprofit leaders is to minister to donors to help them grow more giving and passionate hearts. People are not born donors. Giving is a learned behavior. The more people give, the more they give from the heart and not just a surface transaction, the greater impact on each donor. It is our job to help donors engage with heart giving.
