¶ Improving the Nonprofit Industry's Trustworthiness
How can we be better as an industry ? Right , that's supporting things that are so much more important than others , right , like the work that the nonprofits are doing and that we're supporting them in is so important that it really , truly deserves us stopping slowing down , thinking about why we're accepting norms that have been the same for decades .
How do we truly move forward and how do we make it better ? How do we , as an industry , make everything better for donors and for supporting organizations that are making an impact ? How do we make it better ?
How do we make it better ? How do we make it better ? Hey , there , you're listening to the Missions to Movement's podcast and I'm your host , dana Snyder , digital strategist for nonprofits and founder and CEO of Positive Equation . This show highlights the digital strategies of organizations making a positive impact in the world .
Ready to learn the latest trends , actionable tips and the real stories from behind the feed , let's transform your mission into a movement . Hello everyone , welcome , welcome , whether you're listening to this episode on a run , doing some dishes , getting the laundry done , going for a walk . Welcome , this is gonna be a great episode .
Amanda Wasson has joined me and I'm very excited to have her . She is the EVP of Client Experiences at RKD Group , which I have been , amanda , thoroughly impressed with everyone that I've spoken to on your team .
Everyone is a joy and the work you do is incredible , so I am very happy to have you here and share some nuggets from a part you've been working on . So welcome to Missions to Movement's .
Great . Well , thank you so much . I know that all of the team members that you have talked to love speaking with you as well , and I agree we have a great team and I'm excited to be here and to talk about the trust research we've done .
Yes , and Justin interviewed me recently on your podcast . Yes , I listened , I heard it . Oh my gosh , it was so good . And the first question that he asked me , I think , was the most hilarious question I've ever been asked in . Totally , there was no prep for this show , by the way .
The first question he asked me was how was my experience on American Idol related to the work I do in the nonprofit industry ? And I was like great question .
That's right , and not everybody gets that question right and I'm like , and what was so exciting about it was like , wow , how are you turning an American Idol to this ? But he manages to make that work . So that's so interesting . You know your whole path .
Thank you . It was a really cool conversation so I wanted to dive right in , and this show is all about best practices , case studies , the nitty gritty examples , ways that professionals listening on this call can .
What I've loved is I've heard people are listening and taking information back to their teams and applicating it to what they're doing , which is phenomenal . A little bit of a backstory for everybody today on our conversation In 2022 , I was looking at some research .
As far as trust goes , the nonprofit industry was still ahead of government , and Edelman does this annual trust barometer rankings . What's so interesting ? Edelman was one of the first PR agencies in New York City I ever interviewed with oh really , back in 2013
¶ Building Donor Trust for Nonprofits
, back in my PR days . But what's happened in this last year is , it seems we've taken a step back and fallen behind in trustworthiness for the first time actually in the report's history , and so you conducted your own report . It's called Solid Gold the Nonprofit Marketers Guide to Trust , and I will link to it in the show notes For some context .
Can you explain how is the report conducted ? Sample size like how did this kind of come together ? Yeah , absolutely .
So we tend to do a large research project every year that directs us in how we work with our clients from a messaging perspective , from a tactic perspective and really just trying to generally keep our thumb on the pulse of what's happening in a broader perspective , from a broader perspective .
And so this year it's about trust , and we partner each year with McQueen , Macon and Associates , and basically they're a research firm that partners with us . They focus on psychology and human behavior and all things around donors right that we're interested in , that's what makes them such a great partner . And so this year was about donor trust .
We had seen that element study and the impact that donors are feeling with nonprofits and trust plays such a critical role in who you support and why you support them .
And we wanted to dive a little bit deeper into it and understand , like , why is it declining and why is it really scarily falling down below a lot of business organizations , specifically those that are in your community , right ?
And so they did a study with 1,630 people those that are donors that have given $25 or more in the last calendar year and it excluded places of worship just to make , and it controlled for sex and generation , so that we got a really great sampling and we just dove into the topic of why do you build trust , why do they have your trust ?
Who do you support why ? And think about that right , Whether it's thinking about it related to generation or it's thinking about it just related to what's your connection to the organization ? Are you really tightly connected to them or they're just in your community ? So dove deep into that .
Yeah , I love it . I want to get into the generational aspect too in a second . What would you find out were the primary drivers of trust for nonprofit organizations ?
Yeah , so first it was transparency . So did they feel like there was transparency with them about what was happening , what the nonprofit was doing , and then also did they have the confidence that it took to get the work done ?
So those were the two major factors , like listed 70% or above , that were a big indicator of whether that trust was going to grow or if there was going to be trust at all .
Yeah , what was interesting is the correlation between that trust and how that reflected on giving .
That's right . And so when the trust was high , it was the value , the donor value was high , and they're giving continued year over year over year , and so that was a real .
It showed you the importance of trust and like not only did I say , I think we all know trust is important in relationships , but how do you intentionally build upon that and grow that and truly understand it right ?
Yeah , there was one takeaway . So when you access this report , there's a couple of key findings that they state and takeaways . And it said that donors expect communication , but on their terms . How should organizations interpret that and actually put it into use ?
Yeah , that's a really big thing , right ? Yeah , I think it's like when they say on their terms , it's like okay , well , we talk more and more now about personalized , one-to-one communication and marketing . What does that really mean ? How do you truly know and understand the donors and what their preferences are ?
I think for us , the takeaway is there's no set it and forget it answer and there's no one right way to do things . Certainly you're listening to your donors , right ? So if they give you their email address , if they give you their mobile phone number and you have their mailing address , then you have a lot of different ways to communicate with them .
You also have all of the digital and online channels and you can use that as a way to share information and to push out information that shows the impact of what you're doing and shows the real connectedness that you have to the mission and results . So there's a lot .
So I think our recommendation is you really take a look and understand what donors are telling you , give them the opportunity to opt in to the way that they want to hear from you , and then also make sure that you're utilizing all of your channels to communicate so that people can engage with it when they're ready .
So if you send an email , if you put a post out , if you send a mailing , they can connect with you in the way that they want to , and that's okay . I think that's what it's telling us . Don't try and force 10 or 15 of the same messages and only in one channel when they may or may not be there .
Yeah , I think the other thing , too is we will reach out and look for and ask the things that we want to find out . That's right . So it's like do you have that available ? Do you have videos or FAQs or the things that are going to be most likely asked , accessible to be able to find ? Are the top things maybe your most recent impact updates ?
Is that pinned to the top of your Instagram profile , right ? Just like thinking about the things that people are going to naturally maybe have questions about , or is it difficult to find and therefore the trust may be lowers because it feels hidden ?
Yeah , and I think also is it buried in an annual report somewhere , that someone had to go dig for what I really love about it , as we've been brainstorming internally about okay , what does this mean to actually our clients and to nonprofits ? How should they begin to think about it ?
When you think about the different types , I love that you said video , because video is so top of mind , and but also , what about some exclusive events where you invited people to join , like where you were talking about the impact and where you were , you know , as we think about how people not only where they want to consume , but how they want to consume Many
people want to have it in a video format or they want to have it really simple and clear big pictures , small time . You know what I mean , like , so it's really thinking about it differently .
So I always talk about this idea of platform specific content . So let's just say I'm going to give an example .
Let's say , as a stakeholder CEO it doesn't have to be the CEO , but let's just say it's an executive and organization that you trust and that you believe in , for the organization has a face for it and they do a LinkedIn live on their personal right and they're doing a LinkedIn live . Maybe it's a quarterly impact update
¶ Building Trust With Supporters
Great . So maybe that's a 15 , maybe 20 minute max long video . But then for the people who just want to quick , maybe then follow up with a PDF carousel of just like the quick stats , the updates , maybe the funds coming in . Maybe then on Instagram , that's a quick 60 second , real , right . Maybe on email , that's a paragraph that links to a blog post Right .
So you think about how can you take this one message but share different channels in the way that channel , how those people consume content so that it feels accessible , and that's what that channel wants as a business , for you to connect with people in that way .
So I think that's a big part of but , on their terms is when we go to Instagram , how are you consuming ? When we go to LinkedIn , how are you consuming ? When we read an email , is there 10 different buttons and to click on . Are you making it easy to digest the message ?
Yeah , I really love that . It's truly about , also for the value of the content that you have . So you just described you know four or five different ways of using the same content and getting different results and impact . So I love that . I think that's really right on . Thanks , I love that .
I said right on because it goes with our solid goal theme of the 70s vibe . Oh , I love that .
That's awesome , it's solid goal and intentional . It was interesting also was that you looked at the generational differences . What were the differences when it came to trust ? Did you see anything that was shocking or different ?
I wouldn't say shocking . The interesting thing is that trust matters , no matter your age , no matter which generation you come from .
I think what we did find was that people , especially the older generations they really focused on and this is true across the board , by the way , but it was slightly higher in the older generation that they're giving close to home , right , they're giving where they're seeing the impact , which I think goes back to if you're saying that you're giving because you're
transparent and competent , you're seeing that in your local community , right .
And I think that the younger generation is used to growing up with the internet and growing up with access to international , so they are much more comfortable with international causes and , again , the difference isn't great , but they tend to give more to international , while Gen X or Baby Boomers , they're giving to national and then also local organizations .
And that's where their trust is . You just can't put these described me and my parents . Now that I'm thinking about it . My parents , I know , give to local organizations because they go and attend local events .
Yeah , absolutely .
Breakfasts , brunches , galas kind of thing versus . It is interesting the organizations that I'm a monthly donor for are not in Atlanta at all , and actually they're serving mostly all over the world or all over the United States , and so that's a really interesting distinction . I do want to get more involved in local Atlanta organizations since I've moved here .
That's very , at least for me . That's very accurate , so that's interesting .
Yeah , and again it wasn't like there was a real clear distinction , but you could definitely see kind of the impact of generation and how it could lean . And so if you're an international organization or if you're a local one , the same is true . You're just building that confidence , you're building the transparency , no matter if you're doing the work .
You know , with video , with easy access to communication , you can make those things work regardless .
Oh , absolutely . That's what I share about ads all the time . A lot of organizations will say , well , it only makes sense for us to run ads in our community , and I was like , actually , that's not true at all .
There's a ton of organizations that I support that are based in places I used to live , or places I've never been , but I'm called and compelled to support your mission . What do you think I mean ? Really , the point of the report is right . How can you take in , how can you increase trust with supporters when you're working with organizations ?
What are you recommending ? Yeah , I'm like what's moving the needle ? What's making a difference ? If somebody was to say , okay , we're heading into giving season right , which is an important time , how can we make sure that , as we were building out our campaigns , we're doing it in a way that is showing competence and building the trust ?
That's a really great question and I would say there's two things . There's a longer term play , which we would say to every organization find out what your trust is with your donors , because some you might say , oh , you know what , I feel like we've got a lot of great donors , we haven't seen the decline .
But you still want to know , like , what do people think of you , what do your donors think of you , what are your prospects think of you ? Now it's so easy and accessible to get research done for your specific organization . So doing that on an annual basis helps you to have like a clear , distinct understanding of what's happening for you specifically .
So we always recommend that without like sending out a survey via email Like what's the best way to get that you can ?
do it . You can do it once a year , where you're using online panels and targeting different groups whether that be specific donors , that you have also prospects within your specific area , whether that's national or international or local , and so you can send out Survey questions that are really asking .
It's almost like the NPS score for your organization , but at a deeper level , where you're getting a little bit more information . So we always recommend that you you start by understanding where you are at , but also you ask what about ? We're going into Q4 , you know the busiest giving season no time for research right at the moment . Right , what can you do ?
And in a lot of the things that we've talked about today , which is really tell a clear , transparent story in all of the channels that you have access , to Make sure that you're not just doing a set it and forget it . Plan , really evaluate and take a look at All of what you have commuted in the past and think about is this really accessible to people ?
Is it understandable ? Am I creating content in multiple different formats ? Have I thought about various different lead gen opportunities ? Right ?
So if you're sharing those , that type of content , within social channels think Facebook or LinkedIn , in fact , nicole Daley , who's one of our digital media strategist , wrote a quick blog on this and I thought it was really good check that out .
It's just quick plug , but ultimately she was talking about the fact that you know , if you're utilizing these channels to put your information out there and you're targeting to Specific audiences that have an interest in what you're doing , then that's going to be a great lead generation tool , and they're going to start with you by understanding the impact that you're
making . So it's really thinking about the content that you have reevaluating , I , and I would just say we're encouraging people to stop , take a look , understand what you're communicating and Are you really telling your full story in an authentic way ?
That's compelling , right , and are you doing that regularly , not once a year or not at Q4 , just alone but what are those touch points that you're building throughout the year ?
throughout the year . Yeah , exactly , I think there's a lot to say of Just making the ask when you're ready to make it , instead of like building up all the impact stories . And there's an episode , actually right before this one went live , episode 87 , which was five creative ways to say thank you .
Yes , and we forget we spent so much time on the soliciting of the ask , but the best way that I found that I find trust in organization is hearing from them after I make the gift right .
How they respond . Yes , how .
So spend as much time , if not more , on what happens post gift . That's right . Then you are on the building of the campaign and the solicitation and the event and everything . So check out that episode because I give five kind of creative out of the box ideas on how to do that . But I love that idea . Do you have any thoughts ?
When it comes to messaging and ding like , how does that all align with promoting trust ?
Yeah , well , it's very interesting when you think about brand and you think about all of the messaging around a brand .
And again I go back to starting and with an understanding of how do people Think about your brand , how do they engage with you and , depending on the size of your organization and how long you've been around , sometimes your brand is going to work really towards building that trust and other times it's like you don't have any equity in it yet .
And so then how do you build that equity , especially on limited budgets ? We know anybody that's seen Barbie or seen what's happening with Barbie knows that like a hundred million dollars will get you a lot of publicity and helps to build that trust .
Non-profit organizations don't have those budgets and so it's really thinking about how can you associate your brand , how do you first of all understand where you are and , second of all , understand the messaging and the branding and making sure that you don't have disconnects between what you're saying you do , what you stand for , what your mission is about , and then
also what you what you're saying you're actually doing , right and like . Those need to be aligned and have a clear understanding of that . You're Clearly defining and communicating the same thing consistently .
Yes , I think one of my favorite ways , especially if you're an organization that's smaller , to build trust is by partnering with organizations that have that built in , absolutely doing different collaborations , the organizations that might already have some Following , and so if you're like , oh okay , they're partnering with X , y and Z , that's a brand that I relate with
, that's aligned to us , they've built trust , they have some legacy to them , than that way you're expanding your audience and you're bringing that credibility along with you to . So I think that's one thing to think about .
Going into giving season is how can you work with your friend , corporate partners or brands to elevate that credibility and is expanding to new audiences ?
yeah , absolutely agree . That leads to an interesting point . Like in the research found that , like you would think that I will , trust is built if I go down and I volunteer and I attend their event and I do all of these things . Well , these people automatically trust me and really there wasn't a correlation .
It was really and I think that what you just said plays into that right . So if you look at a brand in their local , in your community and you see them doing good work and you see the impact in your community , maybe you don't have time to volunteer , maybe you're .
You're at a stage in your life we have a four month old right and you're not really able to go out there and do that or attend events , but you know they're doing great work . And then you see them partnering with , let's say , the local , the local market or Google or something , a brand that builds trust , and you're .
That means more than actually going down and spending the time , which was a little bit of a . You know , I have a moment for people , because I think we often think the opposite and not those things aren't important . Attending the event , you know you want people to be as much as possible , but as it comes to trust , it didn't make that big of a difference .
Interesting .
Yeah , I would say there's a lot of fascinating insights in this report . Definitely check out the link . It's on the blog and in the show notes if you want to give it a full read through . I would . It's very easy to read through and how you've outlined it .
It's not like a clunky Right we try to make it easy Easy access this information right easy to access , easy to digest and put into practice . So , amanda , I want to ask you , dive into two sections . We must know , for a professional
¶ Connecting on LinkedIn and Social Media
development or just for fun , what are you reading or what podcast are you listening to you recommend ?
others . So I am into all things wellness and my family friends will tell you like I listen to everything , I try to do everything , I try to stay healthy , right , and it's like , okay , in our fast-paced world , what does that all look like ?
So I would say anything , whether it's leadership or it's health and wellness , like related to so Dr Roll coals , the art of being well left that doctors , pharmacy I'm listening to that Mindset mentor .
There's a lot out there that I that I really find interesting , and also anything on leadership and how Like you can work together better and more effectively as teams . I find that and there's a lot that are out there . They're rethinking by Adam Grant . I mean , there's just a ton . So I'm I'm a junkie when it comes to all that stuff . I love listening .
It's like you're able to get so much information in a short period of time .
Yes , I know , I love listening to podcasts on about on a walk . Or yes , yeah , yeah , absolutely . And then I like to ask this section with ask and receive , what's one thing that you would like to ask for help or support on from the listeners ?
As I think about that . You know we are , and I know because you've talked to a lot of Arcadian's over the past . You know few months , and one of the things that you likely have seen on social media is our quit-bad fundraising yes campaign , and really is really .
It's a movement that we are really taking on and we're inviting everybody to do it with us , to Really take a step back and look at we don't have to do things the way we've always done them . How can we be better as an industry ?
Right , that's supporting things that are so much more important than others , right , like the work that the nonprofits are doing and that we're supporting them in is so important that it really truly deserves us Stopping slowing down , thinking about why we're accepting Norms that have been the same for decades .
How do we truly move forward and how do we make it better ? How do we , as an industry , make everything better for donors and for supporting organizations that are making an impact ? And so I would just say we would love you to join us , we would love everyone to join us on that journey and to help us do better and to quit bad fundraising .
I love it . Where can people find out more about that campaign ?
So definitely on LinkedIn . We also and I'll send you the link but we have some great fun videos about like that just are really funny about like thinking about what it means bad fundraising . So we have lots of resources on LinkedIn . I'll give you the link and you can make available to all the listeners .
Perfect . I love it . Amanda , where can people connect with you ?
You can connect with me . I'm also on LinkedIn , amanda Watson , and just link with me there and I'd love to talk with anyone .
Awesome . Thank you for spending your time with us today .
Thank you so much , everybody , it's fun .
You're welcome . I know I love having this conversations . I selfishly get to learn so much . Everyone go check out the report . I love everything that our Katie is doing for the nonprofit sector . So thank you , appreciate you and your team .
Thank you so much .
Can you tell I love talking . All things digital to make this show better . I'd be so grateful for your feedback . Leave a review , take a screenshot of this episode , share it on Instagram stories and tag positive equation with one e so I can reshare and connect with you .