What if Your Donors Were Members?
I am not one of those people who hates their cable company. The American Customer Satisfaction Index has found that out of 46 different industries, consumers rate cable service providers at the bottom of the list for customer satisfaction. There are plenty of legitimate reasons why people dislike their cable company, but my experience has not been so bad. My relationship with my cable company is purely transactional – I give my cable company money and I get access to their service. I consider the relationship to be good if my cable is working, my cable company considers the relationship to be good if I continue to give them my money.
For many United Ways, the relationship with their donors is also transactional – donors give United Ways money, and their donation is allocated to a variety of carefully vetted local charities and programs. Some donors may consider the relationship to be good if United Way sends them an acknowledgment of their contribution. Other donors might consider the relationship to be good if they receive some communication about what their donation accomplished. Still others might need to know United Way’s administrative costs in order to consider the relationship to be good (but our research finds this is a small percentage of donors – about 4%). Donors consider the relationship to be good if they know their contribution was received and United Way considers the relationship to be good if the donor continues to support United Way.
Membership
Membership is different. Members join the cause and participate because they believe in it. There are plenty of membership organizations in our society: public radio/television stations, AARP, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, YMCA/YWCA, faith-based organizations, American Heart Association, parent-teacher organizations, Masonic organizations, professional associations, fan clubs, Greenpeace, neighborhood associations, etc.
The relationship between members of these organizations is not a transactional relationship, it is a relationship that connects the member’s passion to a shared larger purpose. When you are a member, you are part of something bigger than yourself – you belong to a “community” of people who want to achieve something together.
What if Your United Way had Members?
Members share passion and purpose for a cause, which means your United Way would need a cause. Our research with local United Way donors has found that most donors (upwards of about 85%) do not consider allocating money to local charities or programs to be a cause, especially the younger generation. Think about the charitable organizations you support financially, or with your time, and you will find that all of them have a cause.
United Ways that focus their work around an issue like homelessness, hunger, poverty, or high school graduation are issue focused. We developed the Issue Focused Business Model based on research with United Way donors that found they want United Way to make a measurable difference addressing a significant social issue in their community. At issue focused United Ways, members can clearly see the cause, for example, end poverty, halt hunger, or all children enter kindergarten ready to learn.
Once your United Way has a cause, you can ask people to join your cause. Members join the cause and participate because they believe in it. The key word here is “join” – members are not asked to “give,” they are asked to “join.” Joining an issue focused United Way always starts with the issue. At United Way of Pierce County (Tacoma, Washington) they say “United, we will lift 15,000 families out of poverty by 2028.” They want you to be a member of a larger community of people who are passionate about lifting families out of poverty.
Joining United Way can take many forms such as financial support or volunteering. Issue focused United Ways know that people who are passionate about the issue want to contribute their time and money to address the issue. Younger generations are more likely to want to volunteer to address the issue before contributing. It is essential for United Ways to provide volunteering and giving opportunities that address the issue – because that is your members’ passion.
Affinity groups are an ideal way to attract members, but only if your affinity group is focused on your issue. Many United Ways have “affinity groups” that are nothing more than donor recognition for a certain level of contribution. Members are not passionate about how much they contribute; they are passionate about their cause. Issue focused affinity groups like the Women United group at United Way of Pickens County (Easley, SC) are all about their cause: “Women United is an unstoppable network of women committed to improving the lives of children in Pickens County. Through Women United, you will build connections with like-minded women, deepen your knowledge of community issues, and support children and early literacy through programs such as Preschool Pages.”
When the relationship between United Way and donors is transactional, it cannot come as a surprise that donor turnover is high. When a donor is no longer exposed to the opportunity to give to United Way through the workplace, they rarely make the effort to seek out how to give to United Way directly. Why? Because most United Way donors are not passionate about giving money to be allocated to local nonprofits. At issue focused United Ways, there is a direct connection between the donor’s passion and their membership with United Way. They are passionate about the cause and they are willing to make the effort to join and maintain their membership with United Way.
United Way Relevance
Members join the cause and participate because they believe in it. This is the key for United Ways to be relevant in the future. You must be able to connect your member’s passion to your cause. Becoming issue focused provides your United Way with a cause, allows you to attract members to address that cause, and as a result, measurably impacts a significant social issue in your community. Issue focused United Ways are relevant now and for the future.