Just press the button, or how fundraisers draw the wrong conclusions from the fears they have

A popular meme shows an astronaut trying to figure out which button to press, sweating profusely as the pressure grows to make a decision. It is often presented as two unwanted options, but my favorite is when it is used to explain an obvious choice and the bad one someone can make. I feel that small to midsized nonprofits frequently put themselves into situations where they think the choice is made for them.

Yesterday, I presented the core concepts of Generosity Experience Design and how it might support making positive and energizing decisions for nonprofits at a crossroads in growing their community of generosity.

Part of the fun things that Community Boost does during their Nonprofit Marketing Summit is also offering folks like me the opportunity to speak with attendees in a small group setting. I joined The Lebowski Room after my talk and had some fantastic discussions.

One underlying theme was an unstated fear of having the hard work that a nonprofit puts into an asset or campaign rejected. This fear was articulated in the following ways, without anyone saying "I'm afraid" :

• Being bothered whenever their small list of emails gets unsubscribes
• Wondering if using their own story will take away from the mission, even though that story is essential to the mission!
• Hoping that there's one significant change they can make on their website that will lead to more donors

And consistently, what I kept coming back to are the core principles of Generosity Experience Design:

1. Focus on people, not money: I encouraged folks to ask their audience what they want and what they find valuable. Unsubscriptions can be informative, pointing to a need to work on audience fit with the content the nonprofit produces
2. Focus on the experience of connecting with people: Folks are there for YOUR story, not the story that others are telling. Embrace your unique why and be confident in that foundation. Your messaging, your services, your staff, etc. will change but your core story should not change
3. Use technology to accelerate the experience: There is no silver bullet; a single change that can magically find new donors. Real change is iterative and thrives in spaces where experimentation in small ways is allowed to build momentum.

Once the basics are understood on what works for your community of generosity, then that's where the real magic happens.

If you've put in the work, established data-driven goals and objectives, and made sure to account for as much as possible, press the button that leads to your success.

Can You Do Me A Favor?

We have partnered with Fundraising Everywhere to bring their wildly successful Individual Giving Conference to North America in May. In order to best serve small to mid-sized nonprofits, we would like to know what YOU would like to hear about that will be most impactful.

Do us a favor and take a few minutes to fill out this survey below and help us choose the right topics and speakers to serve your needs.