So far so good . . . if you’re reading this, it’s a good sign that you don’t listen to directions and, by implication, might be the type of person that would go against the herd mentality.
There is hope for you and, by extension, the organization that you work for.
We live in a very difficult period of transition from the analogue world of paper-and-ink and broadcast communications to the digital-based Internet world. And today . . . as you read this . . . you are neither a 20-year-old leading a fully digital life, nor an 85-year-old leading a fully non-digital life. You and I are somewhere in between.
And, frankly, that is hard because we have one foot in each world.
So where do you (personally) fall on the digital to non-digital continuum? My guess is you tip non-digital. Oh yes, most of us are using some digital tools, but compared to a 20 year old? Come on! Plus, most . . . not all . . . but most of our digital use is personal, not professional. Or, another way of saying that is that we use more digital applications and tools in our personal lives than we do in our workplace. And that is especially pronounced if we work in nonprofit fundraising.
At some point professionally (that is, our work career) we have to start to move seriously to digital. And that goes double if we work in nonprofit fundraising. What I mean by “seriously” is we have to: A) Learn it, and B) Make it work!
I hear Development Directors complain that none of their digital tools are generating anywhere near what their direct mail programs generate.
Why is that and whose responsibility is that?
Do they believe that there are not charities raising virtually all their donations online? Do they think that direct mail appeal response rates are magically going to turn dramatically UP and that costs of production and postage are going to turn dramatically DOWN?
Look at the twenty-somethings and their adoption of digital communication. That is your future. The world isn’t going back. And unless you shift the direction of your fundraising department by learning how to make online pay . . . you will be out of a job.
But . . . as I said at the beginning . . . I’ve got hope for you because you didn’t follow the crowd that heeded my instructions NOT to read this blog.
Good for You.
Join us!
-Mike
Welcome to BIG's Blog! Please feel free to forward this post to your friends and coworkers...and email me a comment at: mike@big-db.com
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