Are You Breathing Your Calling?
The work of philanthropy facilitation is very personal. And, fundamentally, it’s based on trust.
Which is why establishing and building trust should be part of your nonprofit and personal mission.
“Amid times of change, one truth remains: trust is the foundation of progress”
Alas, I rarely see this in mission statements. Just like I rarely see taking care of donors in mission statements. But, if you rely on philanthropy to survive and thrive, donors are just as important a constituency as your mission-centered beneficiaries.
Think about the patients, students, visitors, clients, neighbors… all who must absolutely rely on being able to trust you with their lives. Their wounds and fears; hopes and dreams; weaknesses and potential… and everything you promise to do to fulfill on your mission. Trust is why they affiliate with you.
It’s also why donors choose to connect. They also need to trust the organization to act ethically and effectively if they’re to believe parting with their hard-earned money is a good decision. Plus, they need to trust the person who asks them to be honest! It’s the only way they’ll feel they’re a part of the progress they want to see in the world.
It’s On You to Make People Feel You’re Trustworthy
To paraphrase Maya Angelou, people will remember how you made them feel, not what you said or promised.
So, it’s all about your follow-through. When you demonstrate gratitude, welcome donors as members of your family, and check in to make donors feel personally cared for, you’re on the establishing trust bandwagon.
Whenever someone thinks “I’m not sure I can trust them,” that’s a bad sign.
When you simply take the money and run, donors will start to question the wisdom of their choice to affiliate with you. They’ll ask “did my gift matter?,” and wonder if their money went into a black hole. Donors process gift decisions through the lens of trustworthiness. They need to know (or at least feel) the nonprofit is being led by a board and CEO/senior staff of character (they are honest and transparent) and competency (they can deliver on their promises).
It’s an Uphill Battle, Requiring a Proactive Approach
People won’t trust you simply because you’re a “good guy nonprofit.”
While nonprofits fare better in the Edelman Trust Barometer than government and media, they lag behind businesses when it comes to being seen as competent. And, also, when it comes to being seen as leaders. Now in its 25th year, the Barometer reveals the multi-decade erosion of trust in institutions has turned into an avalanche.
Because trust is simply no longer a given, it’s mandatory you step up and build it.
Yes, you! Even when it’s hard. This means speaking truth to power (to senior management, board members and colleagues) whenever you see others in your organization going astray. Perhaps it’s targeting the wrong constituents, crafting the wrong messages or using the wrong channels. Or perhaps it’s fudging the truth with donors or otherwise acting unethically.
As a fundraising professional, you’re a leader; it’s incumbent on you to act like one.
Donors need to know your nonprofit is being led by a board and senior staff who are honest and transparent. This means you must hold fast to ethical principles (e.g., the AFP Code of Ethics; Donor Bill of Rights), and stick to your standards of what you know works/doesn’t work — even when urged by other leaders to chase shiny objects, or simply do what you’ve always done, even though it isn’t working as well as it once did.
The Best Fundraising Leaders Don’t Just Do Things Right; They Do the Right Things
The core question asked by Edelman is: “How much do you trust each institution to do what is right?”
It also asks whether an institution is honest or not. Being honest means owning up to mistakes. This falls not just on the institution, but on the leaders who make up the essence of that institution. For philanthropy facilitators (aka fundraisers), when it comes to building and sustaining trust, doing what’s right means treating donors as they would want to be treated. The Golden Rule applies. Also, the Hippocratic Oath: Do no harm.
When you fail in any way to fulfill on your promises, you’re doing harm.
- When a donor gives, there’s an implicit promise you’ll say thank you. Promptly, personally and in a manner powerfully indicative of the impact of their gift.
- When you tell a donor you’ll send them information, there’s a promise you won’t fail to do so.
- When you tell a donor you’ll get an answer to their question, there’s a promise you’ll do so within a reasonable time period.
- When you tell a donor you’ll follow up after leaving a voice message or sending an email or letter, there’s a promise you’ll follow through.
- When you tell a donor you’ll call them after chatting at an event, there’s a promise you’ll get right back to them to set up a personal meeting.
- When a donor tells you something about their preferences, there’s a promise you’ll make a note and comply with their wishes.
- When a donor completes a survey, there’s a promise you’ll record their answers and take their feedback into account.
- When a donor is vulnerable with you, and shares their values, worries and hopes, there’s a promise you’ll listen attentively and act in a manner that brings them meaning.
- When you tell a donor you’re not using their data, there’s a promise that you’ll adhere to their data privacy wishes.
Every time you fulfill on your promise, you start the process of building trust.
12 Attributes of High Trust Organizations
I often encourage philanthropy facilitators to engage in specific practices that instill trust.
Today I want to go a step farther and suggest you convene a cross-departmental team do a little self-audit of your organization’s trust barometer. Because even when you do all the right things, you’ll have difficulty establishing trust on a large scale without a shared culture of philanthropy in place. Use this Spitfire Guide to Reversing the Trust Deficit.
- Your organization has clear, shared moral norms, communicated with and demonstrated to the people with whom you want trusting relationships. These are rules or expectations driven by values. Your teams know them and contribute to upholding them.
- The communities you serve are embedded in your organization — or better yet, they lead the work. This means giving them substantial control over decision-making, not just more responsibility.
- People are not hunkered down in survival mode. They are stepping out of their bubbles and those engaging with you do so with responsiveness and vulnerability.
- People engaging with your organization feel welcome, have agency and participate in ways meaningful to them.
- There is a spirit of optimism within and around your organization. Optimism is future-oriented and there is a belief that things will turn out for the best.
- There is a strong sense internally and externally that your organization places public interest over self-interest.
- There is a growing in-group, i.e., more and more people who embrace and exhibit the same moral norms and trust that others will as well.
- Your organization is conflict-resilient. It holds difficult discussions, acknowledges breaches of trust and takes steps to repair them.
- Communities and partners seek out your organization, and there is measurable positive word of mouth about your organization and team.
- There is visible accountability, including your organization listening and leading with empathy, taking feedback and acting on it.
- You share with your donors how you’re using AI to aid your fundraising initiatives because transparency in communication is valued.
- Your organization treats growing social trust as a valuable goal in itself.
Trust is the Foundation of All Lasting Relationships
Trust defines the credibility and legitimacy not only of your organization, but of the entire social benefit sector.
Donor retention guru Professor Adrian Sargeant has spent 20+ years researching the relationship between trust, philanthropy and continued donor commitment. And he has found, unequivocally, that trust is the essential foundation of the philanthropic relationship. Yet too few organizations make the effort to operationalize this construct into their vision, mission and strategic fundraising and marketing planning. You should do so by creating meaningful opportunities for connection.
Without donor trust and confidence in philanthropy there’s no future for social benefit organizations.
If you’re faced with a deficit of donor trust, begin right now to rebuild it. Do what you can to get others on your team on board. Reach out, find out what went wrong in the past, validate their experience, and promise to do better. Then, fulfill on that promise!
Transparency, honest communication, listening, empathy and affirmative follow through will restore trust.
Make your donors feel respected and valued, and they’ll respect and value you.
“Community-building activities, collaborative projects, and even casual gatherings create those small, meaningful interactions that are the bedrock of trust. Social psychology tells us that repeated positive interactions create an implicit safety signal, making people feel secure and valued within the group.”
— Otis Fulton, Ph.D., The Psychology of Trust: It’s All About Belonging
The Value of Trust is Reciprocal
The key to earning and keeping trust is offering donors something they want or need in exchange for their gift.
They offer value; you give back value. Once they fulfill their end of the bargain with their philanthropic support, you have a duty to fulfill your end of this brand promise with a value-for-value exchange. You make a promise to them, as a nonprofit brand, to effectively enact the values they care about.
Give donors what they bargained for.
Nurture and sustain philanthropy by thinking, long and hard, about what you can do to satisfy donors and make them feel good. Transparency. Honesty. Ownership. Integrity. Graciousness. Gratitude. Don’t assume they don’t want to hear from you, or even that they don’t need to be recognized, rewarded, wooed or even asked. Reach out, especially to mid-level and major donors, to find out what they value.
Be transparent in your tool and data usage
Donors trust nonprofits with sensitive information and expect it to be handled responsibly. Openly communicating how donor data is collected, stored, and utilized, including any involvement of AI, demonstrates accountability and respect for donor privacy. Don’t let donors find out after the fact — be open and transparent about your organization’s donor data and AI usage.
All philanthropy is based on delivering value.
Don’t say “I’ll call you” unless you mean it and have built a system to make sure you don’t fail. Earning trust is work. One report by Salesforce found 61% of customers said it’s difficult for a company to earn their trust. Delivering on your promises is the bare minimum. Over-delivering will make you stand out. Under-delivering will kill the budding relationship.
NOTE: It’s the organizations that use “pressed for time” as an excuse who end up leaving money on the table. Don’t let that be you! Use a tool like Momentum to help manage meaningful donor touches and moves so you assure you fulfill on your promises, explicit and implicit.
