Recently I was talking with my father, and conversation came around to his job. You see, my father is a preacher, meaning his job is to cater to the spiritual needs of his congregants. It also means that he loves talking about the philosophy of why people chose a church. One of my father’s favorite phrases is, “If it takes a dog and pony show to get them in the door, what will it take to make them stay?”

Basically, you can do lavish acts to bring a person into the church, but unless they value the underlying message and buy into what it is the church is trying to do, nothing will make them stay.

I started thinking about the phrase “dog and pony show” and how it applies to things far beyond my father’s job – it really applies to any organization that is trying to bring in new people.

The United Way version of a dog and pony show are car giveaways, raffles, cash prizes, etc. And while these may reward some donors, it is important to remember that unless donors truly understand what it is that United Way does and buy into the mission, they will eventually leave. Raffles and car giveaways will never keep the donor at your United Way.

So, what will keep them with United Way?

Impact. Donors, similar to church goers, want to be a part of something larger than themselves. They want to know the impact that their dollars will have in the community and how their donation will change lives for the better. To become fully invested, long-term donors, they don’t need incentives, although it is nice, they need to buy into your mission and truly believe that United Way will help them achieve their goal of creating a better community.

That being said, what your donors see as impact and what United Way sees as impact are not always the same thing. Donors do NOT think that your campaign goal, or administrative costs, or what partner agencies are funded are impact. What they want is lives changed.

United Ways need to understand that lives changed is what donors want to support and cater to that need. And the easiest way to do that is through an issue focus.

With an issue focus, donors will finally understand what it is that United Way does and have a clear picture of what the community will look like thanks to their donation. It allows United Way to create their own impact, beyond partner agencies and dollars raised. And it provides a clear rallying cry for donors to buy into.

Dog and pony shows may be fun, and your donors will probably enjoy them. Just realize it will take so much more to keep your donors.