Donors don’t necessarily all want the same things

“Recently I sat on a panel where someone was advancing the truism that today's donors want measurements to prove the effectiveness of the programs or strategies they fund -- they are more business oriented -- they want metrics,” said Ruth McCambridge, editor of Nonprofit Quarterly. “I sat gritting my teeth, not because it is not true about some donors, but because it is definitely not true about all and probably even most donors,” she said.

“One of my pet peeves is when I am sitting on a panel of ‘experts’ addressing an audience of nonprofits and one of them says something just plain wrong but with great authority. It happens way more often than I would hope. I'm not talking difference in perspective here, but the presentation of something as fact that is just untrue or unsupported by any research,” she said.

Accodingly, the upcoming Fall issue of the magazine will include an article, "What Do Donors Want?", by Cynthia Gibson and William Dietel. It’s good reading for those of us who face that question every day.