The Mistake: Avoid This Nonprofit Fund Raising Blooper

Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content and has gained 600K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.

An online devotional for writers

A Word From The Word

Jesus replied with a story. (Luke 10:30, NLT)

A Word For Writers

I was trying help a client avoid one of the biggest nonprofit fund raising mistakes: talking about his ministry procedures.

He waxed eloquent about adopting a new data base, switching around his organizational chart, and tweaking his bylaws.

“People really don’t care about your organization’s operations,” I interjected, shocking him into silence. 

Fortunately, I followed those words with a qualifier. “But people do care about the those you impact.”

There’s a big difference between focusing your nonprofit fund raising content on a ministry’s procedural operations and focusing your content on the people it serves.

Jesus gives a perfect example in the parable of The Good Samaritan. His listeners were not so interested in how the team of priests enforced Jewish law nor in how the Levites managed the temple. They didn’t even ask about the innkeeper’s training to care for injured guests.

But listeners leaned in when Jesus told the story about an assaulted traveler and the man who rescued him.

Avoid one of the biggest nonprofit fund raising mistakes: a focus on procedures.

Instead, write about the person you impact.

A Wise Word

Write about the person you impact – not about procedures.

A Word To Pray

Heavenly Father,

You care about people. Operational structures are just the framework for ministry. Help me share the stories of Your work in individual lives so that readers can see You and Your impact.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

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