February 2, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Should donors believe your organization would survive without them?
Many in the nonprofit world believe donors are more likely to support causes that are self-sufficient.
The reason is simple, writes M. Sue Woodward, a fund-raising consultant, on the blog Sue’s Muse.
“No one wants to donate money to what they perceive as a sinking ship!” Ms. Woodward writes.
But the fund-raising consultant Jeff Brooks has an opposite view.
Mr. Brooks, writing on Donor Power Blog, says that donors are more likely to give if they believe their donation is necessary to sustain a worthy cause.
“Donors want to be wanted,” writes Mr. Brooks “Years of experience, including head-to-head message testing, tells me this: An appeal that says, ‘We may have to cut programs unless people like you give’ outperforms an optimistic ‘Things are great, please join us’ message by dramatic margins.”
Which theory do you subscribe to? Is expressing need a sign of weakness, or an important tool for rallying support? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.
