Why call it moves management?

I don’t like the term “moves management”.  Why?  Because it focuses on you and your organization.  It’s about your moves.

Sure, it uses aliteration so it sounds nice and it rolls off your tongue easily.  But, it focuses too much on the wrong stuff.

Instead, I prefer the more common term used mostly in the private sector… customer relationship management (CRM)?  Or, if you want to tweak that for fundraising, you could say donor relationship management (DRM).  They don’t sound as cool as moves management but at least with these phrases, it’s about the donor— not you.

These phrases focus on the relationship you are building (or should be building) with the donor, not solely on the moves you want to make to manage the donor relationship.

Am I splitting hairs? Sure!  But I think the names we assign to the actions we perform every minute of every day are important.

Gift officers are urged to track their moves for good reason.  I get it.  But let’s not forget that it’s all about the donor and the relationship.  And let’s start by putting the focus squarely where it belongs.  On the donor.  Let’s call it donor relationship management (or DRM).