LEAD. June 2020 | Page 35

FEATURE: OUR FAVORITE NONPROFITS AND HOW THEY’RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE Money Talks by Peter Greer and Chris Horst Mission True organizations recruit and engage Mission True donors. For the remainder of this chapter, we’d like to shift our attention from the organization to the donor. As donors, you have a critical role to play in helping the organizations you love stay the course. It is easy to assume that these principles of generosity are only applicable to the wealthiest of philanthropists, but even grassroots givers need to be setting priorities and practices in place now to avoid unintended outcomes in the future. “Follow the money” is what my friend Terry Looper says. Terry would know. He serves on several different boards, and he’s seen firsthand the influence of funding. Donors are an accurate predictor of whether or not an organization is going to deviate off mission. Specifically, what excites and motivates the donors who fuel the mission? Are they moving in the same direction as the organization or have they rejected the organization’s full mission? Donors either center an organization on its full mission or contribute to Mission Drift. Despite this influence, only a very small percentage recognize the role they play. But Greg is an exception. “Hi, Peter, this is Greg. Hey, when you get a minute, would you give me a call? I have something I’d like to discuss with you.” As I listened to this voice mail, I could tell Greg had something important on his mind. It wasn’t the words he used, but his tone that concerned me. This wasn’t going to be a conversation just to catch up and laugh again about our experiences traveling together to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. 35