How Much "Faith" to Put in Fund-Raising Appeals

April 14, 2008

How Much "Faith" to Put in Fund-Raising Appeals

Religious social-service charities often debate how much to focus on their faith at fund-raising time.
Could too many religious references on appeal materials turn off those of differing faiths (or no faith at all)?

Jeff Brooks creative director at Merkle/Domain, a marketing company that serves nonprofit organizations, says such fears are overblown. On his Donor Power Blog he cautions religious charities not to “hide who you are.”

Mr. Brooks recalls how he once worked for an evangelical social-services charity that went into “freak-out mode” after research showed that Jews made up a sizable chunk of its donors.

Concerned that their appeal materials were “too evangelical,” the charity’s leaders decided to play down references to Jesus.

The result? The number of donations dropped. It seems the charity’s loyal donors—evangelical Christians—lost their connection to the cause. (The Jewish donors, Mr. Brooks suspects, knew all along what type of charity they were supporting and weren’t concerned.)

While Mr. Brooks cautions charities not to “wedge yourself into your narrowest cultural and theological niche,” he says that donors “aren’t going to punish you for having faith.”

What is your advice to fund raisers grappling with this question? Share your thoughts by clicking on the comment link below this link.

— Brennen Jensen

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How Much "Faith" to Put in Fund-Raising Appeals