Who cares about your organizational integrity?
We are witnessing the highly valued currency of connection in many organizations, especially non-profits. This is so because non-profit organizations have the most to gain from a consistent and loyal donor/customer (hereafter named d/c) base. When resources are thin, the value of customer retention is at a premium. Yet, despite the rash of open positions titled “Engagement Coordinator”, “Director of Donor Outreach”, or “Membership Concierge” there is more to reaching out to current and potential donors/customers than a newly crafted position.
Beyond having hundreds, if not thousands of d/c “like’ you, “follow” you, “pin” you or develop an association with you is the hope that they will, over time, build a relationship with you. In time, that connection will hopefully culminate into the continual donation/purchase of goods and services, ensuring a secure future for your organization. For non-profits, that culture of connection translates to donations made freely and frequently.
So what’s wrong with creating new positions in order to focus on connections? Simply developing a new area of focus in d/c engagement doesn’t assure success. As compelling as the organizational mission might be, to be really successful at the above endeavors requires internal change as well.
For instance, organizational staff will need to comprehend a change in focus. What plan is in place to bring them on board? How will this new spirit of engagement translate to the folks in the Marketing, IT departments or even those at the front desk? In what ways will their work change? What specific strategies will support the new emphasis on d/c relationships?
Why should you expend the effort? For the sake of organizational integrity which long-term, translates to sustainable success. Think of the most effective organizations you know. They seem to have a top-down, bottom-up consistency to messaging. A solid measure of how effective an organization is, is how well their message to the outside world mirrors the one to its own employees and staff. It’s the sweet spot where the external mission and the internal operation coalesce into a unified whole.
Why is this important? Because today, success is not just about sales/donations. It’s about being upstanding and upright. So, no matter how many positions are created with this new engagement focus, if they are not reflective of a cultural shift in the organization confusion will follow. Being an organization without integrity is like being a parent who says one thing but does another. It won’t take long for a bright consumer to figure things out, and then there could be very serious consequences and perhaps even irreparable damage, with heavy work to be done in order to restore confidence.
So, what are three quick questions to ask to know if your non-profit has organizational integrity?
Compare the way your organization treats its best donors with the way it regards the most valued employees. Are there disparities? Repair them. Perhaps your organization is filled with itself on the inside but unable to articulate that same message to potential or current donors/buyers? If either case is so, you’ll need to fix it.
Compare the frequency and tone of external newsletters with communication with internal staff. Does the message match? Is there equal attention to the content for both? Make sure your message works for you, in all ways possible. If not, work on creating better tools.
What is the follow-up system for problems that occur? How are issues handled for d/c or for internal staff? If issues fester and go unresolved, that can poison any outreach/inreach efforts you might want to undertake.
Achieving organizational integrity is a process I can help you with. I am interested in your responses and hope you might connect to discuss your experience with me, here or at Ruth Schapira Consulting.