A Nonprofit Narrative We Need to Change—The Over Promotion of Charity Rankings and Associated Percentage
Nonprofits from all corners of the country….Can you help shift this narrative with me?
Which narrative, you ask?
The over promotion of program percentage or rankings from the charity watchdog sites.
I’m begging you. Can we stop with this?
Your ‘over 90% of your dollar goes to programs’ doesn’t mean anything.
The Form 990 is 100% highly subjective.
Please don’t hear me say transparency and fiduciary responsibility isn’t important. Of course it is. But, I’m asking what’s behind the over promotion of charity rankings and associated percentage?
Because an under-investment of gen-ops dollars might also mean:
⚠️Your staff isn’t being paid a living wage
⚠️Your reserve is too small
⚠️You’re trying to do more, on less and that’s not sustainable
⚠️You’re irrationally frugal
And, worse yet, not investing regularly in all parts of your organization (program, admin, AND fundraising) could mean you:
⚠️Are vulnerable to a funding plateau
⚠️Are land-locked from growth opportunities that come your way
⚠️Are at risk in times of crisis (hello, federal dollars)
None of these things help the nonprofit sector in the long run. Will you join me in this narrative shift?
Whenever you’re ready, here are THREE things you can do next:
👣 Follow me on LinkedIn where I share insider info daily — the same lessons I teach my clients about attracting larger gen-ops dollars and diversifying revenue.
🍎 Grab FREE Guides + White Papers — download robust resources you can use to push against the sector’s misconceptions, equip your board, and shift your team into High-ROI fundraising.
📈 Work with me to diversify revenue & secure the gen-ops gifts you need to grow. If you’re a business-minded nonprofit CEO with big growth plans but need to make charitable revenue from investment-level donors a bigger part of your budget, you can apply to work with me here.