Thinking of Banning Words From Your Charity’s Glossary? Think Again

Have you ever considered banning a word from your charity’s lexicon?

Writing on his Donor Power blog, Jeff Brooks describes how a few years ago he worked with two nonprofit groups that sought to reduce poverty.

One banned the word “poor” from its vocabulary, he recalls. “They felt it unfairly stereotyped the people they served, undermined their dignity, and created in donors an insidious sense of superiority,” says Mr. Brooks. Instead, the organization preferred the term “needy.”

The other group shunned the word “needy.” “They felt it unfairly stereotyped the people they served, undermined their dignity, and created in donors an insidious sense of superiority,” says Mr. Brooks.

That organization’s preferred term for poverty-stricken people? “Poor.”

“We can get awfully wrapped up in the words we can and can’t use,” concludes Mr. Brooks. “But here’s a hint: If you have a list of forbidden words that contains anything other than profanity, you’re just being clueless. And probably hurting your fund raising and communications.”