Inflight Briefing: 004

William Henry on Oct 25, 2022 3:54:35 PM

Delivered weekly, the Inflight Briefing is designed as a blueprint for the builder and inspiration for the curious. It's for the purposeful (that's you!) doing marketing for good.

004: Who’s afraid of big bad change?

Change is the only constant. The rules change, seasons change (this performance is scary good), and we change along with it all. Maybe this is why Halloween lands during this turning point in the year. It’s hard not to be scared when things turn upside down.

Recessionary fears are impacting associations and nonprofits, and that’s not even mentioning growth and updates to financial instruments like donor-advised funds that appear to be slowing direct giving to nonprofits.

We’ve all been impacted in different ways by the pandemic. But McKinsey estimates that COVID accelerated digital growth by years. This means that the expansion of the digital space is a change that we’re going to have to live with.

Change is certainly scary, but it’s also exciting. If we take these changes as listening cues, we may just find ourselves ahead of the curve.

Snackable snippets

Is your organization going through big changes?

It’s hard enough to serve a community without having to worry about transformational changes. But every organization needs a plan to execute on change. The hardest thing with change is that not everyone will like it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing. Managing expectations and getting ahead of questions is central in implementing meaningful and positive change in any organization.

Who’s afraid of the big bad donor-advised fund?

Jason Lewis, host of the Fundraising Talent Podcast, interviewed Stephen Kump, CEO at Charityvest, and Lisa Greer, author of Philanthropy Revolution, about the rise and growth of donor-advised funds (DAFs). Changes in the giving landscape can always be scary, but should fundraisers instead read this as a message from their donors to better meet their needs to use their money for purposeful giving?

8 fundraising trends to keep in mind this year end

The boom in giving that was sparked by COVID has begun to taper off. But the move toward digital giving and engagement is only increasing. McKinsey studies found that the pandemic has accelerated digital adoption by years. In Dec. 2019, 41% of customer interactions were digital. Just seven months later in July 2020, 65% were online. This is some seriously fast change!

3 ways to boost giving during the end of year

It’s not too late to make a few slight adjustments to your year-end campaigns, turning them from low performance to changemakers. In an ever increasing digital environment, this means advertising online, making the experience on your website smooth, and targeting the right audience with the right message. See, that wasn’t so scary!

In the news

Even the big fish are expanding their advertising budgets. Uber announced a new division that will place ads through its ride-hailing and food delivery apps as well as continue testing on in-car tablet placements in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

It doesn’t take being a Wharton psychologist or a New York Times bestselling author to know that most meetings are a total waste of time. But Adam Grant, who checks both those boxes, says that if you don’t decide, learn, bond, or do during that meeting, then it may be best to just say no.

Mackenzie Scott, known for multi-billion philanthropic giving, recently donated $85 million to the Girl Scouts. This is the single largest donation the organization has received since its founding in 1912, and helps the organization respond to a 30% decrease in membership during the first year of the pandemic.

Something for your inspiration folder

Savannah Music Festival organizes its annual 17-day event each year, which serves attendees incredible performances by diverse artists. To grow their audience and ticket sales, they went digital, advertising through Feathr. And they initiated 148 ticket sales in the process!

Maybe obsessing on direction isn’t as important as I’m making it. Maybe it’s as simple as: “Don't be $@#%&*$, try to have some fun, and do some good stuff!”

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