It's Time to Kill "Cultivation"

I only use the word “cultivation” for fundraising because I want to ensure that fundraisers understand what I’m talking about. But you should know that I do so begrudgingly.
I think that word just doesn’t fit. Come on… we’re not cultivating plants, soil, or microbes!
We’re nurturing relationships with human beings!
According to Wikipedia cultivation may refer to:

• Horticulture, the cultivation of plants
• Tillage, cultivation of the soil
• Animal husbandry, the cultivation of livestock
• Microbiological culture, a method of multiplying microbial organisms
• Cultivation, a video game by Jason Rohrer
• Cultivation theory, George Gerbner’s model of media effects

So who on earth decided that nurturing relationships with donors should be called “cultivation” anyway?
 
I say, let’s treat our supporters right, not like dirt! Let’s kill “cultivation” and call it what it is— nurturing.
 

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