We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Privacy Overview
Login
Your Role
Challenges You Face
results
Learn
Resources
Company
How to break the most vicious cycle that hamstrings your organization's growth
I recently stumbled upon a study that was jointly conducted by the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Essentially, they revealed a vicious cycle that puts you, the fundraiser, in a real pickle every single day.
Bridgespan Group’s nifty vicious cycle image
Here are three drivers of the circular situation:
- Misleading reporting: The majority of nonprofits under-report overhead on tax forms and in fundraising materials.
- Unrealistic expectations: Donors tend to reward organizations with the “leanest” profiles. They also skew their funding towards programmatic activities.
- Pressure to conform: Nonprofit leaders feel pressure to conform to funders’ expectations by spending as little as possible on overhead, and by reporting lower-than-actual overhead rates.
So what can you do to break the cycle?
- Be candid about the vicious cycle with major donors
- Help them recognize infrastructure, administrative, and fundraising needs
- Remind them that businesses need investment to grow
- Invite them to decide with you how you, together, should measure performance (be specific)
- Make sure they trust you (and they will if you are open and transparent in steps 1 – 4 above)
- Then, ask them to support your mission with unrestricted dollars to allow for growth
- Inspire them to commit to paying for a greater share of administrative and fundraising costs
Related Posts
>> 5 Ridiculously Simple Steps for Fundraising Success
>> The Keys to Successful Fundraising
>> The Anatomy of Success in Planned Giving
LIKED THIS BLOG POST? – SHARE IT!
Get the book!
Feeling like your job is getting harder because donor expectations have changed and competition for the charitable dollar is growing?
Finding that the old orthodoxies and conventions espoused by so-called experts in online echo-chambers and at conferences don’t work anymore?
Want to help more people make impact by facilitating their acts of philanthropy but feel like too many obstacles keep getting in your way?
Then this book is for you.
Engagement Fundraising was developed from the perspective of a donor who discovered firsthand that the impersonal, spray-and-pray approaches of his beloved charity were not only offensive but also wasteful and ineffective. So he took action. And now, you can too.
Get smarter with the SmartIdeas blog
Subscribe to our blog today and get actionable fundraising ideas delivered straight to your inbox!
I encourage non-profits to post this link on their websites: http://www.overheadmyth.com