It’s fair to say that donations are the life-blood of the non-profit world. While there are certainly other forms of funding that can be and often are secured, the truth is that most non-profits place a great deal of emphasis on donations even when other forms of income are available. This isn’t because soliciting donations is easy or because they are always a better form of funding than other funding methods, but because of how donations tend to help non-profits fulfill their goals.

Connecting Non-Profits and the Community

A donation is more than just a monetary gift. In most circumstances, a donation is a direct tie of purpose between an individual or business in a community and the non-profit. When non-profits solicit donations, they’re looking for more than just a check; in most cases, these non-profits are looking for methods to ensure that they are meeting an important goal of the community at large. When there is a complete lack of interest in donations, a non-profit must either conclude that there is something about their message that is not being communicated properly or that their reason for existence is not one championed by the broader community.

Help them to stay connected to the very people who they are trying to serve

Donations work not only as a funding source, but also as a way for a non-profit to measure that reception of its message in a broader context. Without being able to see the hard numbers that come in from a donation drive, it can be difficult for a non-profit to check to see if its messaging is still on point. As such, donations can be thought of as a powerful metric for helping non-profits to ensure that they are still engaging with the community in ways that not only help them to stay financially afloat, but that also help them to stay connected to the very people who they are trying to serve.