What Abbott Elementary teaches fundraisers about Generosity Experience Design
Tim Sarrantonio
Generosity Experience Design | Empowering nonprofits to build a community of generosity
I still pay for cable. I can't super justify it anymore, except for a few shows that I enjoy watching when they come on.
One of those is Abbott Elementary. The synopsis from IMDB says, "This comedy follows a group of teachers brought together in one of the worst public schools in the country, simply because they love teaching," but it doesn't do it justice on how funny its biting commentary on public school teaching can be.
A recent episode focused on a fundraiser the school was putting on to raise funds that would send kids to the local science museum for a field trip. To do this, they are selling candy.
I won't get into the plot deeply other than explaining that it features Ava (the tone-deaf principal character) and Barbara (the traditionalist teacher who has a long tenure at the school) coming into conflict over their philosophies around what "good fundraising" is.
Watch this clip, and let's see what may resonate with nonprofit fundraisers. I'll then break down what I learned from the primary characters and suggest a resource that links to their approach around designing a generosity experience.
What We Can Learn From Ava
If you watch the full episode, it will be no surprise that the answer to their fundraising problem is combining their styles and philosophies. And I think it's a good metaphor for what we're experiencing now in our sector, where there are many questions about donor engagement ethics as well as the effectiveness of tactics.
Ava's point of view is one where traditional sales engagement tactics will maximize impact. Going through the entire episode, this is what I found impactful and useful after seeing Ava's point of view:
Ava ultimately represents the generosity experience's tactics. She helps show that it is okay to not only ask for money if it is in service of the mission but that people should not be ashamed to do so.
Resource Recommendation
领英推荐
What We Can Learn From Barbara
Early in the show, Barbara outlined how the children should engage with potential donors to the cause. It ultimately was an approach that focused on the value of the mission and goal of the ask and relied on the power of people's inner goodness to drive success.
Barbara's point of view is that sales tactics are manipulative and can be immoral. Going through the entire episode, this is what I found impactful and useful after seeing Barbara's point of view:
Barbara ultimately represents the generosity experience's foundational principle of putting people before money. She helps demonstrate the core why of the ask in the first place.
Resource Recommendation
One Simple But Important Document You Need
Many mundane things that sometimes get overlooked help in situations like what the folks at Abbott Elementary went through. One of the best investments in time and energy your organization can make to avoid conflicts is establishing a gift acceptance policy outlining how you engage with donors.
Use this to guide what types of gifts you get and how you can enshrine ethical standards in your fundraising. Here's an excellent resource from Bloomerang on that.
What's Next
Over the next six weeks, I'll dive into how the generosity experience design framework can be applied to website design. Thanks to everyone who voted in my recent poll and it looks like I'll begin by focusing on navigation and flow.
Helping nonprofits amplify their impact and increase their visibility through design.
2 年I love Abbott Elementary. The characters are great. They’ve done such a good job of including everyone from the janitor to the principal. You get various viewpoints of the same situation with hilariously diverse personalities.
Speaker, Coach & Community Builder | Social Impact Leader | Helping Purpose-Driven Organizations Thrive
2 年I love this -What stays with me is the idea of telling a “story” for the sake of getting the funds. I always say if the money is all you want - the money is all you get.? The core objective was to get the funding - this type of transactional fundraising only lasts for so long. You can only get someone with the same “sad story” - so then you find yourself trying to top and outdo yourself again just to get the dollar. I have found that this also leads to a LARGE donor turnover rate. In my opinion - it’s all about honesty and authenticity. Show who you are, show what you’re about, show who you SERVE- and then let the donors respond. The right donors won’t leave you. They won’t need to be coerced and they won’t need to be wowed- they will simply need to be asked.? LASTLY - look at the face of the first person who was asked for money. He looked visibly upset by the exchange- and that’s another thing. When we are thinking about designing our fundraising program - I always say you have to design with the donor in mind. Think through the experience from start to finish to FOLLOW UP.? Think about the community you want to build and also the community you would want to be a part of - and build from there. Love this Tim - thank you!?
Executive Director at Community Youth Concepts
2 年I should have known you were a fan of Abbott Elementary - I am working my way through season 1 and think it is FANTASTIC! Real portrayal of the struggles in education and youth development but also the joy of the work! So good!
Chief Growth Officer @YPTC
2 年Hi Tim! I do love the show. My son attends a real-life Philadelphia public school and so many issues hit so close to home. As a co-founder of the nonprofit that raises funds for the school (because we have no choice due to decades of underfunding), I have personally dealt with that proverbial dot-matrix printer which elicits Mr. Johnson's trademark one liner: "That trash?" Anyways, your article is spot on, and it demonstrates a real struggle our board and community have with fundraising. It is hard to ask for money even when the need is real and huge! And I couldn't agree more about a gift acceptance policy - our little org even has one too. Thanks for this insight!