In speaking with Brad Wayland, who is the Chief Strategy Officer at BlueCotton, it is interesting to note that he has the opportunity to work with many entities today from for-profits to non-profits. One observation that he notices is the following: Trust is the foundation on which all successful businesses - including nonprofits are built. Without that foundation, everything else crumbles. It’s why running a charity is as much an exercise in PR as it is an effort to bring about positive change. And it’s also why, if your own nonprofit runs into bad publicity, you need to address the problem immediately. Here’s how.
Trust is at an all-time low.
People simply don’t have the same degree of faith in charities that they used to. Given how the past few years have been a rapid-fire series of high-profile scandals such as Oxfam, Kids Company, the American Red Cross, and UNICEF, it’s not difficult to see why. The warm and fuzzy feeling of giving to a good cause has now largely been overshadowed by anxiety over whether our money and effort will actually go towards changing the world for the better.
No single organization is to blame for this sad state of affairs. Rather, it’s the end result of nearly a decade of mismanagement, shoddy fundraising practices, poor data hygiene, and negative PR. And from the looks of things, it’s not getting any better.
“Business is no stranger to controversy, but it seems to bite harder when it affects [charitable organizations],” writes Oliver Bennett of Management Today. “Perhaps it’s because we expect it from sharp-suited profit mongers, more than from their woolly-hatted charity cousins. The hypocrisy smarts.”
“The hostile stories mainly break down into pay, campaigning, and fundraising, with data protection at the heart of the problem,” he continues. “[And] as the relationship between the public and the sector hardens, it does seem as if charities can do no right.”
The question, then, isn’t one of whether or not your charity has an image problem. It does, just like every nonprofit operating today. The question is how your organization can rise above public perception and establish itself as worthwhile and trustworthy.
There are a few steps you should take to that end.
- In your marketing efforts, stay away from emotive appeals. Modern donors, especially in the millennial generation, don’t react well to being guilted into giving. Instead, aim for a more positive message - don’t show the problem, show how your charity is solving the problem (and how donors can help).
- Be authentic about how your charity operates, and about what percentage of funds go towards further fundraising efforts. The more transparent you are, the easier you’ll be to trust.
- Align your charity with the right spokesperson or ambassador - someone who cares deeply about your cause and has a knack for influencing people. Just make sure before you start working with them that they don’t have too many skeletons in their closet.
- Be prepared to handle negative press if and when it surfaces. You need a crisis management plan that details how you’ll react, what you’ll say, and where you’ll say it.
- If your nonprofit ends up embroiled in a scandal, don’t try to dodge responsibility. Be accountable for your actions, and the actions of your staff. In the long run, that will harm your reputation far less than if you try to deny everything.
- Treat your donors (and more importantly, your volunteers) as human beings, not sales leads. They want to change the world as much as you - that makes them your colleagues, not your tools.
- As an addendum to the above, pay careful attention to the internal culture at your nonprofit. You should strive to promote a positive, collaborative workplace - an environment where everyone can thrive and work together towards a higher goal is encouraged.
- Understand the cause you’re championing - not just the surface elements of it, but the deeper problems. Charities that look to address global poverty, for example, often tend to focus more on short-term solutions rather than long-term strategy. They don’t have a long-term goal, and it shows.
People don’t trust charities in the same way that they used to. That’s the bad news. The good news is that if your organization markets itself effectively, is authentic and above-board and has a positive, encouraging mission statement and value-set, the sad state of the nonprofit industry makes it that much easier for you to stand out.
That much easier for you to change the world.
Brad Wayland is the Chief Strategy Officer at BlueCotton, a site with high-quality, easy-to-design custom t-shirts. BlueCotton offers printed and embroidered custom t-shirts, hats, and outerwear for groups of all kinds: schools, churches, sports teams, non-profits, fraternities, sororities, or those who simply want to make a proud, personal statement.