not for profit

It was thirty years ago that I first heard the rumor:

“Our donors, they are all dying. Soon there will be none left and we’ll be out of business.”

Panic soon spread. Plans were outlined, budgets allocated…The mandate came down:

            “We HAVE to attract younger people.”

But it turned out to be VERY tough to motivate younger people to give.  For some reason, they seemed to have other priorities:  finding mates, buying homes, raising kids, buying the fastest car… (Not necessarily in that order.)

It turned out the rumors were right:  The prototypical donor of the day, “Ruby” as I’ve come to name her, DID die…

But something curious happened…We found out that Ruby had a daughter, and once her kids were out of the house, something even more curious happened, Ruby’s daughter morphed into Ruby! 

Before our very eyes, the next generation of donors was born!

We’ve all noticed it with varying degrees of horror: You and I ARE morphing into our parents.  We now go to antique shops.  Yes, we enjoy sushi – but sometimes still return to mac and cheese.  WE understand technology.  WE demand more accountability than did our parents.  WE buy stuff on the web.  AND now we find we have the inclination (and the money) to support our favorite charities.

So if you are to communicate with the new generation of donor you are going to have to adjust but PLEASE don’t panic. We haven’t yet seen the last donor!

Yes, we were right to look for new donors.  Any organization that does not have an effective new name acquisition strategy in place is doomed to disappear!  BUT don’t panic:  There are still people who have needs and there are still other generous people who are prepared to give to help meet those needs.  

But stop the press! 

Yesterday, I heard a rumor that this generation of donors is dying…

Is this “déjà vu” or what?

Doug Preudhomme is President of DPC&S Inc. – a donor development company based in Phoenix, Arizona.

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