Why we don’t build pyramids at SUM1

Post written by Christopher

I read this article yesterday and it really struck a chord for me. On more than one occasion we’ve been advised from more experienced non-profiteers, urging us to change our model or to adopt these older systems. The one where you donate X, you get emails every week (or every day) asking you to donate a larger amount, and if you donate X+Y then the email asks just increase.

In the age of snailmail only communiques, that probably worked pretty well. But the world turned and the internet has changed/is still changing everything. I know pyramids don’t work because I get about 10 different non-profits contacting me weekly/daily asking to donate. Even when it’s been literal years since I last had money to give. I had to get a new email address and redirect the ones I wanted to keep to that because my main inbox was at almost 1000 unread messages one day!

People have no patience for the constant ask anymore. It will get your group relegated to the spam folder, filtered out of the rest of the email that floods into their inbox like the tide every morning and every evening. But since the internet keeps changing everything, we have better options. Like social networking, building a ring/vortex of friends and family that will help you and promote you. By curating useful information to that ring of friends so that they can learn and grow with you. Instead of spamming people, you need to entice them to want to read your posts, to feel like their a part of what you’re doing. Because if you’re reading this, you are indeed a part of it.

So, no, we’re not going to spam people just because they gave us a few dollars out of the honest goodness of their hearts. We’re not going to sell our list of donors so that we can get more money, even if for a good cause. It’s just not right, and it’s not how we should do things in the 21st century.

That said, I will appeal rather than ask. Christmas is Coming! Please remember us when you’re looking at your end of year gifts and donations. SUM1 can always use your help, and there’s a lot of work to do.

Why We Stopped Building Pyramids: What Nonprofits Can Learn

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