Guest Post - A Passion to Understand

In the blogging world, it is thrilling to think that someone is actually reading your written word. In the film, Julie & Julia, Amy Adams’ character shares through blogging, her feelings about cooking her way through a Julia Child cookbook as a way to come to terms with her own identity and her personal need for accomplishment. If you are a blogger, you will appreciate her exuberance when she received a comment that wasn’t from her mother.

Given the excitement a blogger (yours truly included) gets when someone reads and actually comments, you can imagine the exhilaration I felt when I received an offer to write my first guest post. A Passion To Understand is a blog that chronicles the author’s interest in world affairs and explores her passion to understand why certain events occur.

Based in the U.K., the blog’s author, Emm, manages Emm in London (The Adventures of An Eternal Tourist in London) and Addicted to Media (Music, television, film and book reviews by Emm) as well. After commenting on her post called Running for Autism, she asked if I would share more about Click. Buy. Help. on A Passion to Understand.

Naturally, I obliged!

Expanding on my original comment on Running for Autism, I focused my Guest Post on “Donor Fatigue” as a growing challenge for all non-profit organizations.

I’ve made references to Donor Fatigue on Click. Buy. Help. before, but it bears closer scrutiny.  The site, Donor Fatigue, defines donor fatigue as, “a general weariness and diminished public response to requests for aid to needy people or donations to charitable causes.” In my opinion, a very appropriate definition. Simply, the more times one exercises one’s arm, the more fatigued it gets.

The worldwide financial crisis was a significant factor in slowing, and subsequently holding back the global economy from growing. Only recently has the U.S. begun seeing some dim glimmers of hope. As the economy contracted, so did the philanthropic gifts made to needy organizations. However, in spite of the economic challenges, the earthquake in Haiti on January 12 saw record-setting donations through the American Red Cross. Donors can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10. The campaign has been very successful due to its simplicity – your donation just appears on your phone bill.

On the heels of the Haitian disaster was the earthquake in Chile on February 27. The American Red Cross and many other humanitarian organizations around the world continue to plead for support, but as you can imagine, donors are beginning to tire. They are continuing with their texting campaign. Supporters can direct a $10 donation to Chilean support by texting “CHILE” to 90999.

The American Red Cross can be reached at http://newsroom.redcross.org/.

There is plenty of rhetoric in the media about the ever-growing “donor fatigue” syndrome. As the climate and socio-political temperatures both heat up (yes, I believe the world is warming), strife in all parts of the world continues to grow and the need for assistance with it. Donors’ fatigue also continues to grow as the requests for financial assistance from humanitarian organizations continues unabated.

Click. Buy. Help. is positioned as an alternative to asking supporters to “dig deeper.”

One of the many challenges non-profit organizations face is in growing its revenue. Similar to the basic rule of investing, organizations must also diversify. They must grow not only the number of donors, but also the type of donors. The thinking is that when the economy deals a blow to one group, maybe another is doing better. But donors are only one revenue source. Ultimately, it is the revenue sources that must be diversified. Click. Buy. Help. simply offers a new, additional, and more diversified source of revenue.

For the complete Guest Post, please visit Emm’s blog, A Passion to Understand.

Thank you, Emm for this opportunity. I hope you and your readers found it valuable and look forward to future discussion and debate.

Dave