After reading the recipe I looked up at this public relations legend and said, “Of course - seems obvious when you put it like that”.  Core Values and walking the walk seems to be more attractive to donors than a bunch of advertising.  

A Recipe for Success

It is not enough to believe in your mission when you’re trying to fund a non-profit. You have to make the public believe.  Over the recent Thanksgiving holidays, I visited with family in NJ and met up with two friends of mine from high school for appetizers and holiday drinks.  One friend runs Super ShopRite food market; the other (now semi-retired) - a former head of a major public relations firm.  As we reminisced about the old days and caught up with our current lives – I asked the PR guy a question that I had been wondering about for a while now. 

At its core – this may seem like a marketing question, one that would have an answer routed in “positioning” and “advertising” – but going  just below the surface – you realize that it’s more than that.  The question I asked him was why certain non-profits raise sufficient funds year after year and others struggle to stay afloat.

“Is it the difference in the popularity of agency missions?” I asked my friend of 30+ years – who just left his PR agency.  “Are some personnel responsible for fund raising more competent than others, or is it simply a matter of money? The more money an agency has available for advertising and public relations the more money it will raise...or, all of the above?”

“All of the above, of course,” he answered, smiling. “But, although money and personnel and brand identification all play a part, none of those elements alone ever prove to be  the whole story. For years I have been working with small non-profit agencies in an effort to help them establish a meaningful donor base. They all needed good personnel, enough money to hire me, and a story that was meaningful to a large audience. With those three elements in place, some prospered and some didn’t. What was the difference?”

He sat up straight, took a pen from his pocket and began to write in silence. I thought it would be bad manners to peak at what he was writing, so I just sat back patiently while he continued to jot down his thoughts. After a few minutes he looked up at me, rotated the piece of paper 180 degrees and pushed it across the table. He had written a recipe.

Mix all communication with equal parts of:

SINCERITY

Always tell the truth

TRANSPARENCY

Admit your mistakes and failures

HUMILITY

Never brag about all the good you do

HOPE

Always brag about your desire to do better

COURAGE

Never complain

CONFIDENCE

Believe-Believe-Believe 

GRATITUDE

You don’t deserve a donation

Your constituents need it

After reading the recipe I looked up at this public relations legend and said, “Of course - seems obvious when you put it like that”.  Core Values and walking the walk seems to be more attractive to donors than a bunch of advertising.  

“At the risk of sounding slightly cynical after all these years in the business, if you have all those elements firmly in place,” he said gesturing toward the paper I held in my hand, “you can sell anything.”