Recently, I read a Chronicle of Philanthropy article covering a major initiative that a former client of ours, Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund, had undertaken to diversify their board. By welcoming nonprofit leaders onto their board of directors as experts, they are empowered to help guide how those funds are spent.
This is a welcome and important change. However, they’re not the only ones inviting in folks who have traditionally been left out of philanthropic decision-making. Two of our other clients, The San Francisco Foundation and the Seattle Foundation committed to centering racial equity and shifting power dynamics within their communities. These foundations have put their money where their mouths are when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion by giving up an aspect of their power.
Why This Matters
Philanthropy is built on the idea of haves and have nots. The foundation model, in theory, acts as a conduit between traditional power brokers and the nonprofit organizations doing the work. The experts who work at community foundations guide your donation towards making the most impact. But does the staff and board actually reflect the communities they serve? Do they have lived experience with issues that community members face every day? Or are they advising from the outside?
Seeing philanthropic leaders willingly and intentionally forfeiting an aspect of their power in order to realize a more collective vision of deeper impact? That’s exciting and a huge shift away from how philanthropy traditionally operates. Still, I’m sure you’re wondering “What does this have to do with donor personas?”
Us vs. Them: Breaking Down Stereotypical Donor Silos
In our work with nonprofits, foundations, and schools, a key tool for helping to achieve greater equity and shared power is to change how we see their audiences. For decades, marketers have relied on audience segmentations built on what someone can do for the organization. We divide them into major donors, monthly givers, volunteers, community influencers, and the like.
However, we’ve found stepping into the shoes of your audience and thinking about what your organization does for them to be more valuable. By aligning audiences around shared values, you create connections between major donors and activists, volunteers and community influencers. When you think about what people care about, not just what they can do, you form more authentic connections. Inclusion isn’t just a box to check – it’s naturally integrated.
(My colleague, Romayne, wrote a great piece on this: “Flip Your Donor Pyramid on Its Side for Deeper Engagement”.)
Mini Case Study: The San Francisco Foundation
First off, there is, and always will be, value in stepping into the perspective of your audience. Shifting your community’s perception of you as a funder, though, is not easy. It requires a massive internal investment and reevaluation of how you see the community you hope to serve. (We talked with Rehana Abbas, Chief Philanthropy Officer of the San Francisco Foundation, about how to communicate that shift.)
When the San Francisco Foundation came to us, it was for their first fundraising campaign in 75 years. Their role as a change agent and thought leader for racial equity and economic inclusion had grown. Still, they struggled to articulate the need for the operating fund instrumental to their work. As our audience development research concluded, one particular theme stuck out:
“The Foundation is unafraid to take stands on issues. Other community foundations are slow. San Francisco Foundation is bold and uses its position to galvanize work.”
Notice the framing here. Responsive, principled, actively supporting the immediate needs of the community. And what is community without participation? Inclusion? (Even the billionaires think that economic inequality in the Bay Area is out of control.) Why should a community foundation try to set themselves above or apart from their neighbors when they live there, too?
Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund and the San Francisco Foundation are achieving their goals through different approaches, but they both understand two fundamental truths. Giving the community power in philanthropy is a crucial step in building the world we want to see. And the shift from “I” to “We” is more powerful than any preconceived notion of a person.
Rewriting The Narrative: The Rhodes Trust
When the Rhodes Trust at Oxford University reached out to us in 2020, they specifically sought us out because we were an American nonprofit consulting firm. They wanted a thought partner with experience running large campaigns that had experience working on diversity, equity, and inclusion. They needed someone who could connect major donors across the globe while helping them reconcile the colonial legacy of their founder.
I don’t have to tell you that creating a hundred different donor personas would have been a waste of time. We chose to ask ourselves instead “What unites these different kinds of audiences? What would bring these major donors together?”
We identified 5 core motivators: 1) personal prestige, 2) national pride, 3) single-issue motivation, 4) future motivation, and 5) ego-driven motivation. This led us to help them identify a clearer value proposition for their campaign.
“I want other people to see me as important and appreciate my contributions. Help me positively represent my country and my people alongside others. I want to invest in smart people who are doing important work. Let me help eliminate global food insecurity, cure disease, and create a better future for everyone.”
This new approach changed the game for the Rhodes Trust. Former US president Bill Clinton launched their fundraising campaign at their 120th anniversary event. They are now on pace to meet and exceed their £200M fundraising goal.
Shifting Perspectives for Collective Impact
Undeniably, the Rhodes Trust challenged us to be bold as much as we challenged them. We changed our approach to audience development. Now, when we design personas for clients, we focus on values that identify key motivations. Instead of names, we use attributes – the Go-Getter, the Dreamer, the Futurist. These build a holistic audience vision designed to focus on collective change, not demographics.
When you change your perspective from “What do they do for us?” to “What can we do for you?”, you build bridges between you and your audiences.
When you shift the conversation from “What’s in it for the organization?” to “What’s in it for our community?”, you create meaningful connections across race, class, national origin, and occupations.
A large coalition of people united around a common goal that benefits them brings you closer to fulfilling your mission than siloing your preconceived notions of your community members into inauthentic personas.
We encourage you to take advantage of this method and share it. Want to learn how your organization can elevate your next strategic plan? Build a brand strategy that makes fundraising easier? Launch a fundraising campaign that’s boldly unexpected? Then, let’s talk.