BROWNE INNOVATION GROUP

Sunday, February 5, 2012

BIG’s Blog: No One Can Serve Two Masters

Jesus’ lesson goes way beyond money as the book of Matthew relates in Chapter 6, Verse 24. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The shift in fundraising methodology is so profoundly different that you need to separate your existing marketing fundraising functions along the analogue and digital divide. Separate direct mail from all digital and Internet-based marketing. Donor services need to be placed in the digital group as well, but I’ll talk about that another day.

The only exception to this hard and fast rule is if your fundraising group is very small; five or fewer. But if you have a significant, long tenured direct mail fundraising group with dedicated staff and your program is still viable, leave them alone.

Trying to force direct mail managers and staff with deep experience in the science and art of direct mail fundraising to take on elements of the new digital marketing just doesn’t work. Been there – tried that. It doesn’t work.

No one can serve two masters.

Digital and web-based fundraising applications are new and rising and are just now beginning to deliver a financial impact while analogue (direct mail) is still the dominant fundraising financial driver. . . even though long term it is declining.

Take your digital and web-based marketing functions and separate them. Manage them separately. Staff them separately. Prepare separate budgets.

No one can serve two masters.

-Mike

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