This post is not an endorsement of the candidacy of Mr. Trump!
He knows his audience — and speaks their language.
He is focused on a specific group of people, and he says what they want to hear. He’s so well focused on his audience that people outside that group are flabbergasted; they can’t figure what the appeal is. When you really embrace a group, you are excluding those that aren’t in the group.
That’s a good fundraising tactic. Know your audience. Understand what they care about. Know how they think and talk. Talk to them about the things they care about, and do it in their language.
He understands the power of emotion.
He’s not wasting his time with complicated rational cases.
That’s good fundraising. People give from their hearts, not their heads. Your slam-dunk arguments for your cause don’t bring in the revenue.
He grasps the importance of a good enemy.
People are far more stirred up by the prospect of defeating an enemy than they are by keeping things going.
That’s also good fundraising. Give your donors problems to solve, not successful programs to fund.
He doesn’t care what people say.
Trump gets a lot of criticism. He make take it personally, but it’s not making him change his ways.
Good fundraising generates complaints. Smart fundraisers are a lot more concerned about whether it raises funds than what people have to say about it.
Things fundraisers should not learn from Donald Trump
Don’t ever, ever lie. It’s wrong, and it hurts everyone, including you, eventually.
And don’t be a bully or a jerk. That’s a terrible way to live.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com.
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