It's a small investment of your time that will have deep
repercussions.
Watch this once, then watch it again, pass it on to
everyone in your organization.
I am sure that some of you have been waiting for me to
weigh in on Dan Pallotta's TED talk, for those of you who haven't seen it yet,
I'm so happy I could introduce it to you.
It is smart, insightful, and all too true. This is why I ask that you watch it twice. The
first time will drive you to drink and the second time will drive you to think.
Dan hits the nail on the head here folks and if you don't feel the pressure,
watch it again. This sobering look at the state of an industry so many of us
are passionate about and dedicated to is nothing short of genius. The question
is, what are you going to do about it?
As an innovative change agent in the
philanthropic arena, I am often challenged by the old guard of stagnancy, penny
wise and pound foolish folks. This challenge is just fine with me, I welcome
it. It provides an opportunity to educate, inspire, annoy, and surprise at
every turn. Not every innovation needs to be revolutionary, it just needs to be
effective and executable.
I hope that last week's release of the Pulse of Donor Relations survey white paper and data has now equipped you with some fact based
data. Inspiration doesn't favor those who sit still, it favors those who are
daring. I challenge you to be daring!
You don't have to make seismic shifts to be a change
agent, you just have to not settle for the status quo. For example, we build
donor relations plans and implement ideas all of the time without first finding
out what the needs of our audience are. As witnessed in the Pulse data, only 18
percent of respondents have received comprehensive feedback from their
constituents. So are we assuming we know what they want? You know what folks
say about assuming...
It's time for us to be forward thinking, to challenge
assumptions and anecdotal evidence with empirical data from our constituents.
Then we build the strategy. We craft programs that are innovative in their
simplicity, think iPhone here folks, intuitive in their approach and shift the
landscape of modern communications and engagement.
It's your turn to push
through and make a change. What do you want on your fundraising tombstone? I'm
with Dan here, I know I don't want mine to read, "she kept overhead low and she didn't make waves"
What don't you want yours to say? Post it here and let's
demonstrate the change we want to be in our industry.
Cheers,
Lynne
How about, I don't want mine to read "He kept the lights on." Or, "He always met his annual goal."
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