Writing it Down
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If you could hand select the perfect partner for your enterprise, who would you choose?  If you could pick the ideal buyer of your business, describe them?  What talents and attributes would your blue ribbon board posses?  What strengths would your cause’s CEO embody?


Often we think we know what ‘it’ looks like but we forget to write it down.  If you do not have a clear ‘help wanted’ sign your default strategy is cosmic serendipity.  Consider going one degree better than 95% of the other enterprises by articulating what/who you are seeking.

Trust
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How do you develop trust?  If you are a pet lover and adopt a dog or cat from your local humane society, what are the critical elements that establish trust between you and your new canine or feline?  Is trust immediate?  Does it take time in your experience?  How consistent must you be in order to maintain it?  What breaks trust?  When we consider the critical elements to creating trust it is easy to see our successes and failures when we see it through the experience of those we love.

Willing to Fail
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‘Tis the season to receive glowing reports of the numerous successes in the social sector.  The End-of-the-Year Appeal letters go to great lengths to define the impact of the cause.  Online video cards arrive in our email inbox with emotional recounting of the organization’s highlights.  It is all about feel good and reconnecting to the best an enterprise has to offer.


 Why do so few causes acknowledge the failures and the lessons learned?  Is there a fear of being authentic?  Is the appeal being sent to those who are less than committed and may want off the cruise at the first sense that the ship sailed into a storm?  Why not talk about the ‘oops’ moments.  If you are an in athletics many a failure is catalogued in real-time and the competitor is asked to explain the event immediately after the competition.  These incidents are not to be avoided.  In my experience the social sector prefers to run the highlight real constantly.  We are taught that it is our elevator pitch.  It is easy and everyone feels good.  But I wonder why we are not willing to standout and share the real story of the organization’s year.  Tell the story of the summits reached and the journey in the valley of disorientation.  As always, Seth Godin has masterfully defined the difference between a failure and mistake .  His definition provides a powerful template for future communications.  I wish you much success is telling your enterprises real story.

Mastery

Some specializations are difficult to replicate so we engage the very few who have mastered the skill.  Want to go to the moon?  Your list of vendors with those expertise is quite short.  Hoping to hold an event featuring US Presidents?  There are only a few individuals who have held the title.  These skills and achievements cannot be easily duplicated.  Therefore it is much easier to seek the services of those who have the knowledge than to try and replicate them ourselves.  What if your cause was the outright leader in an initiative?  This does not mean your enterprise is the largest, fastest, or most dominate.  It means that everyone turns to your organization to show them the way.  What if your expertise were so remarkable that how you shared them was the real gift?  Most communities have the doctor, tutor, trainer, or mechanic that people recommend as the expert when all else fails and the consequences are most significant. What do you have offer?

Saving the Dust Bunnies!
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How do you decide where to donate at the end-of-the-year?  Is it the program with greatest presence?  The one on every corner?  The cause that serves the most people?  The enterprise that sends you an appeal letter with a note from a friend?  Or, the nonprofit that provided you with a direct service?  Do you have a comparison chart to measure the impact of each organization?  What metrics do you use?

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I project that we use a hybrid approach. Some gifts come from the arm-twisting of a friend.  Others are generated because we cannot say ‘no’ to the child making a personal appeal on our doorstep.  A few enterprises are on the annual dole.  The real question might be, which causes do you give to that make you feel proud?  The ones that you want to encourage other people to join you and contribute?  The ones that believe what you believe. Notice that not everyone shares your belief, which is the beauty of philanthropy.  There are nonprofits that offer sophisticated programs to rescue dust bunnies from extinction and others that aim to put an end to poverty.  They do not need everyone, just those that deeply share their conviction.