Being a “donor-centered” advancement professional has never meant that we:
- consent to all scholarship awarding criteria proposed by the donor;
- adapt our investment policies because the donor believes another approach is better suited for their gift;
- accept every gift offered by the donor;
- treat the donor as a customer and behave as if, “the donor is always right!”;
- respond with “yes,” to every request made by the donor.
A “donor-centered” advancement professional does not shrink into a mold of the smiling, always-accommodating, and deferential donor servant. Being “donor-centered” does not mean we should treat donors as heroes who are to be tirelessly praised and celebrated.
The deep, fundamental motivations for great advancement work and outcomes have never been centered on the donor.
Truly being a “donor-centered” advancement professional means that we involve and actively listen to our donors, we appropriately thank and recognize our donors, and we share the points of progress, the impacts, and the issues yet to be solved with our donors.
Donors are our collaborators, our coalitionists, and our companions in the critical, supportive work of our mission and cause. And our partnership with them is designed to increase their care for that mission and cause over time. It’s always been about the mission and how, together, we can make positive changes in the lives and experiences of people beyond ourselves and our families.
As “donor-centered” advancement professionals, we are not called to worship our donors. We are called to partner with them.
