How not to be a boring fundraiser

How many nonprofits have truly boring missions?

I think it’s none, or nearly none.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of really boring fundraising out there. But most of the boring stuff is that way because its creators are not connecting with donors. They’re talking to themselves.

Here’s how you can change that, from Katya’s Nonprofit Marketing Blog: Reader question: How do I make my mission sound more exciting?.

It’s pretty simple, really:

Describe your mission as a destination. Don’t talk about your process or philosophy. Talk about your outcomes.

Not everyone has causes like sick children, abandoned puppies, or natural disasters with lots of innocent victims. But I’ve worked with people who had those causes and were hell-bent on making them boring — because it was so important for them to talk to themselves, about their processes and philosophies.

If your mission sounds boring, it’s largely your own fault.