The Donor Paradigm Shift
© by MORRIS E. RUDDICK
President of The Ruddick Int'l Group, Denver
It wasn't Y2K. It was the turn of 2001, when many respected ministries
experienced an abrupt paradigm shift. Without notice, donations
took a nose-dive.
Fund-raising consultants and gurus traditionally have done quite
well with savvy advice and crafty letters designed to tap the
hot buttons of donors on a ministry's list. Not so, this time.
The downturn wouldn't go away.
Some surmised it was something to do with the economy. Others
pointed to an aging of the faithful found on many ministry lists.
Still others discerned a shift in both the composition and needs
of those who have been tapped and re-tapped by so many different
groups over the years. But none of the traditional fixes seemed
to remedy the situation.
And it all happened quickly. This phenomenon hit a broad cross-section
of ministries - some harder than others. Many saw 10 to 15 percent
of their regular revenues evaporate. Some were hit harder. A few
are down by more than 20 percent.
Then on September 11th, tragedy struck America.
But in the first four days after the attack on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon, the American Red Cross raised $18 million
through their web-site alone. Firemen in one town stood on a street
corner and collected $40,000 from passing motorists to send to
the victims - in one day.
Firefighters in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., collected $1 million, while
those in Fulton County, Ga., and Charlottesville, Va., raised
$465,000 and $250,000 respectively. General Electric Co. made
a $10 million pledge for a victims fund, while the Pfizer Foundation
added $5 million. The Starr Foundation awarded a $10 million gift
for firefighters and police officers. The Wall Street Journal
estimated that, within two weeks of the tragedy, more than $600
million was raised by just the relief organizations. That doesn't
count what's been done through special benefits and funds.1
And all this incredible generosity happened while ministries
have been tightening their belts. While the comparison is not
completely fair, it does raise some questions.
Like the sons of Issachar, the Biblical clan of Israel, we need
to understand the times, to know what to do. Unfortunately, until
faced with the downturn in donations earlier this year, most were
riding the success wave: assuming that if it worked in the past,
it will work in the future. No question that that can be a valid
premise for its time. But not at this juncture. Things have changed.
The change isn't over. And these changes have caught many non-profits
flatfooted.
Historically, the US indeed tends to be very generous, individually
and as a nation. So, in light of the disparity between early 2001
and the September 11th disaster, every ministry has
got to asking for the wisdom to understand the times we have entered,
and to know what to do.
So what is happening? Why the disparity between the downturn
being experienced by so many ministries, when the generosity of
this nation has not evaporated a bit, as evidenced by the awesome
response to the disaster on September 11th.
Let me begin with an example of an assignment we conducted for
a respected television ministry several years ago. Donations were
down. The number of donors falling into the "lapsed"
category was up. The questions being asked were not unlike those
being posed by a lot of non-profits the last few months. Was it
the economy? Were donors shifting their focus - maybe losing interest
in what had been the ministry's central agendas. There were indeed
some who had been impacted by regional economic disruptions. But
the chief reason for that downturn was very revealing.
For many, that ministry's flagship TV program had stirred things
for them spiritually. It had provided spiritual nourishment in
a timely and significant way. The result of this program for many
was their eventual attendance in a local church, where they began
becoming active. As they spent more time with their local church,
their TV viewership went down, and that included the program that
had initially stirred them spiritually. And development-types
recognize that for TV ministries, there is a strong correlation
between viewership and the tendency to contribute. Donors were
not in any way upset with the ministry. If anything, they had
very warm and positive feelings toward this organization. And
this TV ministry was serving to feed parishioners into the local
church.
The Donor Life Cycle
There is a life-cycle associated with the role that any given
ministry has with their donors. For the ministry example, recognizing
the transition in the life cycle resulted in adjustments to how
they communicated with those on their list, as well as how they
approached their programming. The results added growth to the
basic thrust of their operation, while also strengthening the
role and relationship they had with local churches across the
nation.
This life cycle varies with the primary purpose of a given ministry
and with the differences between individual donors. Understanding
these life cycles also involves understanding the times. What
began taking place earlier this year, may have, to some degree,
been the result of economic changes. But more likely is the fact
that we live in some unusual times. Times that are changing and
sometimes changing abruptly. Some donors are moving on. New donors
are being added to lists. And the needs and composition of current
lists are no longer reflecting the needs and compositions of the
donors most ministries were responding to five years ago. Understanding
the times. Knowing what to do.
Understanding the Times, to Know What to Do
The reality is that the dynamics behind the downturn in ministry
donations began long before the turn of this last year. Like the
geologic plates that shift over time prior to an actual earthquake,
old assumptions have been giving way to new realities. We simply
have been riding on the crest of past successes and not noticing.
Kind of tweaking our lists and making it right.
Behind recent changes in donor response are dynamics that organizations
operating on donated funds need to individually consider. These
dynamics begin by operating from a premise that understands the
times we have entered. Understanding these donor response dynamics
will also require new mind-sets.
The Need for New Mind-Sets
New mind-sets are needed to operate realistically in the times
we have entered. New mind-sets that will bear on the effectiveness
and stewardship of what each ministry has been called to do.
New mind-sets are what Jesus referred to as new wineskins. In
three of the Gospel accounts, Jesus addressed the need for relevant
methods. In Matthew 9:16, 17, he said:
No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment;
for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made
worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the
wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.
But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
Knowing what to do, will begin by recognizing outdated mind-sets
and less-than-effective means of doing the work of the ministry.
Mind sets that may have been appropriate for their time and purpose
- but not for the time we are entering. Mind-sets that begin by
assuming what was successful five years ago, will be what will
work today. Orientations that relate to approaches to how appeals
are positioned and executed. Mind-sets that have reinforced the
style and image projected which dictates the type of donors appealed
to and those who may be turned off.
The key word is communications. Techniques and appeals should
be secondary to genuine communications. There is a critical need
to genuinely understand those willing to support the ministry.
With that is the need to be relevant.
Dennis Benson, in Electric Evangelism, writes on the need
to be relevant, to meet audiences and donors where they are, and
to know who they are as the basis for formulating programs and
communications. If the same structures and approaches used five
years ago are still in place, something is wrong. He comments:
During this same span of time most major corporations
have changed several times in their marketing, managing, and accounting
procedures. The world has changed in life-mode numerous times
during this period. The fermenting nature of our message keeps
expanding those who hear it. The change of the world nicely meets
the expansive nature of the message. Yet, most faith communities
are not using new wineskins.2
Other out-dated mind-sets include an exclusive, autonomous, independent
ownership approach, so many have used in approaching the work
of the ministry. We are in a time in which we can no longer afford
to operate alone. There is a need for cooperation. Working together
by harnessing complementary talents to accomplish common goals.
There is a need for developing inter-ministry alliances.
Exclusiveness. Mind-sets that put us in ivory towers. Attitudes
that draw dividing lines and create wedges between the Christian
community and those we are supposed to be reaching. Mind-sets
influencing the choice of words and image ministries project of
the Christian community. Us and them. Misconstruences of what
the Biblical separation from the "world" ever intended.
New Fund-Raising Mind-Sets. The primary approach for funding
ministry organizations around the world has been centered on gifts
- gifts solicited almost solely from other Believers. This approach
is foundational and good, but a limitation of the real potential.
Some agendas will appeal to only the Christian community. Some
to niches within the Christian community. But there are many initiatives
being done in the name of the Lord, which will appeal to many
of those the Church indicates they would like to reach.
Embracing a contemporaneous mind-set for the funding of the work
of the ministry has got to begin with a mind-set of revenue
streams! Our current mind-set for raising funds seems
stuck at the wells - the wells reflecting reflecting a solitary
focus on those who believe what we believe as opposed to what
we are doing! There is certainly nothing wrong with the wells
- except, that there is more that is needed and as evidenced by
the incredible outpouring of funds from the September 11th
disaster, much more that is available.
Several years ago, we were contracted to evaluate the dynamics
of a very successful, single-evening, prime-time telethon by a
ministry addressing the famine underway in Ethiopia. While there
had already been a massive outpouring of response to the famine,
the critical need at that juncture, was for the transport of the
food inland. Most of the donated foodstuffs were sitting on the
docks without any means of getting to those who needed it.
The ministry sponsoring the TV fund-raiser had a fleet of unique
planes with pilots, which served to jockey missionaries into the
remote locations they served. They were willing to use their planes
and pilots to get the food to where it was needed; but they needed
the funds to logistically support this effort. The telethon was
successful beyond anyone's imagination. Their role in the relief
effort proved very pivotal. People would have continued starving
otherwise. People from all persuasions gave - because it was a
crisis and because of the specific need. That included a lot of
people who would not have considered supporting the efforts of
this ministry otherwise.
But it doesn't have to be a crisis. Back in the early 70s, Oral
Roberts conducted prime-time hourly specials that featured known
entertainers. The show always included a short, simple message.
But people from a wide diversity of church and non-church backgrounds,
viewed those prime-time specials because they reflected good,
wholesome entertainment and they had a good spirit about them.
They were uplifting and left people knowing that God cared. Because
of that, Oral Roberts was considered a respected clergyman by
a broad spectrum of this nation's population.
However, during the growth experienced by the parachurch ministry
movement, and the subsequent development of the regulars who became
their supporters, there came turbulent waters. Some organizations
overstepped their bounds. Others flat-out compromised to achieve
the success they sought. And word of this not only leaked out,
but it hit the press in a way that sent ripples across the spectrum
of those attempting to use the media to serve the Lord. For many
donors, the result was backing off, and being wary of any they
didn't quite fully understand.
The In-Bred Mind-Set. From all that, the majority of media
ministries have drawn inward and approached fund-raising by targeting,
almost solely, those who already agree with their doctrinal positions.
The result has been an in-bred orientation to the communication
efforts - not only in the programming and distribution outlets,
but in the fund-raising approaches. Because of that, a foundational
assumption took hold: that the more in-talk used, the better -
because in-talk creates rapport, and rapport increases the likelihood
of contributing responses. But too much in-talk also can be a
turn-off to those potentials, not in your inner circle. A turn-off
to new-name acquisition efforts.
But the times have been changing. With the turn of the century,
and globalization and instantaneous, affordable communications
and the internet, a transition is underway in the composition
of those who are in need of spiritual nourishment and those who
are supporting the electronic ministries.
The Need to Understand the Donor
In like fashion to understanding the times, ministries need to
understand their donors. This assumes an up-to-date understanding
of the donor, not one based on five years ago.
Illustrating this, a few years ago, we were called by a ministry
that had come to realize a significant trend in the number of
their donors slipping into the "lapsed" category. If
that trend continued, the closing of their doors would be on the
near-term horizon. What was happening was that there had been
some significant changes in the composition of those on their
list. The old style and approach to their direct mail program
was the result of an over-zealous fund-raising consultant who
convinced them that the more frequently they sent out mailings,
the more donations would come in. That was tolerated for a time,
but new donors felt intimidated and pressured - and subsequently,
so did a lot of those who had been the ministry's regulars. The
result was that the mail from this ministry was simply not being
opened. And unopened mail solicitations tend to have a zero response
rate.
Included in the understanding of the donor is the need to understand
those representing potential donors. What are the characteristics,
spiritually and demographically of those who would want to be
a part of certain initiatives. What are their needs? Their contributing
motivations?
This means recognizing the need to invest in professional research
to stay in touch with the pulse of those representing the key
segments of a given donor base. It means understanding the differences
between key segments within a given ministry's list. It will involve
discovering and getting to know the characteristics of the potential
donors. Then by further research and examination of the existing
donors, groups with shared characteristics and attitudes between
existing and potential donors are identified. These become the
primary target group - those the message and communications are
directed to. Staying in touch with the pulse.
There's a reason for the planning and marketing employed by corporations
in serving their markets. It's based on the wisdom of understanding
their customers and market. Some ministries operate on the assumption
that their successes are being divinely inspired. And I don't
question that. But good research will always augment the calling
of even the most anointed ministries. Good research will help
identify the turns in the market, and help avoid the dilemma so
many have faced in recent months with unexpected, significant
drops in their donations.
Realistically, the identification of needs to be satisfied precedes
the creation of a new product. Good marketing planning will anticipate
the turns in the market. Good marketing planning will keep the
ministry poised for opportunity. All that to say, that the identification
of new opportunity; and a segmentation and understanding of the
changing nature of existing opportunity is a prerequisite to adequately
serving the donor. There are no short-cuts. This is basic organizational
stewardship. And it is accomplished by means of the wise use of
marketing research and planning, along with prayer and good judgment.
Remoteness and Relevance
Ministries that have allowed themselves - in their image and
communications - to become inbred, are simply restricting their
opportunities in serving. This problem results in an image of
being distant and remote. Remoteness is evidenced wherever there
is too much in-talk. There is nothing wrong in serving a niche
market. But there is something wrong when that niche market
represents only a part of those a ministry potentially could be
serving, or appealing to. Unfortunately, the Christian community
has been fractionalized and remote for too long.
The result is far too many ministries have images which cannot
be related to by those outside a small, fragile group of donors.
There are many that need to be positioning the purposes of their
ministry within the context of the times we have entered. There
is a distinct need to not be only operating as, but be perceived
as good neighbors. Every ministry has a need to communicate the
relevance and result of what they are doing and how it is impacting
the communities and peoples they are serving.
A significant change has been underway within the masses across
this nation. It is a growth in the spiritual hunger of the lukewarm
and unchurched. And it has been emerging quite some time before
the tragic shakeup of things on September 11th.
A very interesting little book was released a little over a year
ago. It is entitled "The Prayer of Jabez." It's a Christian
book, with a good message on praying and believing God to be able
to use you. Almost six million copies of that book have been sold
since its release. That in a little over a year. That's a number
one best seller! And it's being sold in every major secular book
chain. Likewise, the Ingram Book Group, the largest book distributor
in the country - considered a bellwether in the book business,
has seen more than a 500 percent increase in sales of Christian
fiction since 1994. Similarly, in the last decade, the number
of Christian marketplace organizations has increased from 25 to
over 800. Even members of the media elite are freely expressing
the need of prayer to the tragedies and threats of our day. These
facts are indications of the spiritual hunger and need that has
been arising within this nation.
A recent Wall Street Journal article reports that the Methodist
Church, in a national TV advertising campaign designed simply
to give comfort after the tragedy, had an unexpected response.
Attendance at the 36,000 Methodist churches across the nation
more than doubled. The Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, a pastor
and executive director of the Methodist church's media campaign,
started the planning to reach out to those who don't attend church
three and half years ago. He indicates that:
Television is the most common language that we have
in our society right now.3
Relevance, image and approach. There is a need and an opportunity
in communicating in terms that extends the reach of the audiences
being served. In other words, watch the in-talk that results in
a separation from those your ministry may trying to reach, those
unreached you have been called to serve.
In-Talk and Common Ground
Gavin Reid, author of the classic Gagging of God, feels
the greatest threat to the Gospel is the breakdown of communication.
He says most Christians appear to have given little thought to
the sociological changes of our times. Reverend Reid points out
that when Christians talk about their communication problems,
words are usually at the top of the list. Although the problem
is much more complex than replacing a few words, it is necessary
to realize that:
... because the churches have been forced by sociological
pressures into becoming in-groups with the consequent development
of in-talk, Christians need to assess their use of words.4
The result of this is that Christians usually think
of communicating their message on their own terms, and if possible,
on their own premises. For them the church is their bolt-hole
and womb. Those Christians who encourage a breaking-out are viewed
with suspicion and are seen to be posing a threat to the community.
The very same pressures and fears that keep the "godless"
out of the church are also keeping the godly within.5
The communication of the gospel message also is hindered by what
Ronald Johnstone calls pre-utterance factors. Because of
past encounters in one form or another, most nonreligious-oriented
folks feel they already know the Christian message. They
have an image or stereotype within their minds that may be correct
for a minority of religious subgroups, but is generalized to the
group as a whole. This is further complicated by that particular
minority poking its head around the corner every so often to reinforce
the already existing image.6 "Gospel
groups and ministries, that stress in-talk and fail to adapt to
the times, certainly limit the potential impact of the message
and may even be guilty of an enmeshed religiosity. In his article,
"Unparalleled Opportunity", Paul McClendon suggests
Christians with responsibilities within the media have a sacred
trust, one which may call for a sacrificing of traditional "sacred
cows" if progress is to be made in the Christian media.7
What Needs to Be Done
At issue is the decline of the donations among a broad spectrum
of ministries. But the real issue is the emerging role of the
Church and electronic ministries in the world we have just entered.
What needs to be done will not come about by means of a quick
fix. What needs to be done will begin with an understanding of
the times, to know what to do. Becoming contemporaneous to the
needs of the people. It will involve a willingness to embrace
new wineskins as each organization takes a realistic look at their
individual mission and how they've been approaching it. We've
entered a time in which "more of the same harder" is
simply going to fall short. What needs to be done will require
nothing short of the very best in long-term planning and marketing-communications.
This should include the following:
- Make a professional evaluation of donors and potential donors.
- Broaden the target group served. Understand the common ground
between prospective audiences and donors - and existing ones.
Take a hard look at the "in-talk" being used, and
evaluate it in light of those you are endeavoring to reach.
- Reevaluate your strategies in light of what your core donors
and potential donor are looking for. Conduct tracking studies
of new donors. Make sure they are clearly understood. They may
be very different from the longer-term regulars. Be willing
to go beyond serving just an in-group that agrees totally with
fringe doctrinal positions and look for those who concur with
WHAT your ministry is doing. The opportunity is there.
- Reevaluate your image from the perspective of both those you
are reaching out to and those you are already serving.
- Studies have shown that most Christians connected to the parachurch
ministry movement contribute to seven ministries outside their
local church. Understand the reasons they choose the ministries
they support. And understand those reasons are not static.
- Focus appeals beyond the vision and give ample evidence of
results. Let the results be tied to meeting both the practical
and spiritual needs of those your ministry serves.
- Supplement traditional fund-raising methods, with maximum
the use of communicating by email and raising funds via your
web-site. People are looking for information. People are looking
for answers. And people want to be a part of something that
is happening. We have entered an era with a generation that
is not only connected, but is increasingly using the internet
to get that information and the answers they are looking for.
And like those who contributed to the Red Cross' web site after
the World Trade Center disaster, people are using the internet
to become involved. Know the difference in the characteristics
of the lists you have developed from your web site. Know what
their needs are - and discover how to interact and bond with
them.
Conclusions
The opportunity is there. People are looking for answers
and WANT to be a part. It is what gave rise to the parachurch
movement in the sixties. It is what gave rise to the incredible
response of volunteerism and generosity to the September 11th
tragedy. People want to be in-touch and connected. People
are spiritually hungry and open.
The change that is upon us is unlike any previously encountered.
The downturn of donations in early 2001 was a wakeup call.
There is a need we all have at this juncture to be more in
touch - with the times we have entered and with those we have
been called to reach and serve.
The opportunity is indeed unparalleled. If we are willing
to adjust and proceed wisely, the opportunity holds the potential
of the masses being less subject to anti-religious rhetoric
in the shaping of their opinions about the work of the ministry.
If those serving as His ambassadors and spokesmen to the masses
are willing to shake off the image of being inbred and distant;
and become more relevant, a reasonable expectation might be
to have the image of the Gospel itself reshaped and credibility
strengthened.
There is a spiritual renewal being experienced in our society.
Who knows the sparks that might be created to transform renewal
into revival if we only would better understand those we are called
to serve.
1 David Bank, Ann Marie Chaker,
Some Might Slip Through the Cracks of Disaster Relief, Wall Street
Journal, September 27, 2001
2 Dennis Benson, Electric Evangelism
(Nashville, Tennessee, 1973), p. 14.
3 Elizabeth Crowly, TV Advertising
Campaign Helps Methodists Fill Pews, Wall Street Journal, October
5, 2001
4 Gavin Reid, The Gagging of
God (London, Sydney, 1971), p. 80
5 Gavin Reid, The Gagging of
God (London, Sydney, 1971), p. 89.
6 Ronald Johnstone, "Who
Listens to Religious Broadcasts Anymore?", Journal of Broadcasting
(Los Angeles, Winter 1971-1972), pp. 91-103.
7 Paul 1. McClendon,
"Unparalleled Opportunity", ICB Bulletin (Colorado Springs,
Fall 1973), p. 12
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