Non-profit Marketing: Donors don't care about you

February 05, 2008

Posted in Fundraising.

I’ve been reading a lot about marketing for non-profits, as one of my major involvements right now is helping Camp Fire USA and Camp Tannadoonah (the summer camp where my wife serves as camp director). I caught this excellent piece:

From Marketing for Charitable Nonprofit Organizations at archrespite.org:

“Here is where many organizations make a serious mistake. They fail to recognize who the potential donor represents. That donor really is paying the bill on behalf of the indigent hospital patient. Yet, when the hospital approaches a foundation, corporation, or individual donor for contributions, it usually couches its request in terms of money for the hospital, not the indigent patient.”

This applies to normal marketing. People don’t want to hear about how their purchase will help your company. They want to hear stories about how it will help them. Benefactors don’t care about your organization, they care about the people who benefit from your organization. Tell them stories – and give them an action that they can use to buy into those stories.

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