The Strategy of Giving

Every so often, I come across big ideas in the private sector that have relevance to what we're doing over here in nonprofit technology. Earlier this week, I received a PDF report called, The Strategy of Giving by email from a banker I randomly met a few days earlier.

The report outlines how and why companies need to "give more" (defined broadly in this case) in order to build their businesses. The diagrams and big ideas in this report are thought-provoking and could certainly translate over to how nonprofits and individuals go about creating social change.

Two quick rips on The Strategy of Giving concepts, interpreted through a nonprofit lens:

Fundraisers must give (choice) to receive more funds;
Philanthropies must receive (ideas) to give more effectively;
Communications staff must share (control of the message) to get their news to more people
Executive directors must collaborate (across the sector) to get recognized for accomplishing their missions

Here's an excerpt from the introduction

"Reap what you sow." This phrase is found in nearly every culture and language. Basically, it says that the fruits of your labor will come back to you. Depending on your views, this can be called a law of nature,a pattern of social behavior or just plain karma. Many companies, unfortunately, have not seen the full potential of this law.

The Strategy of Giving involves finding ways to harness the power of customers, competitors, employees, potential customers and owners to work for the benefit of a company. In order to get people activated, a company must reward people before they have done anything for the company.

Giving initiates a movement in the recipient. A company that has generated movement in the recipients can then direct this energy towards benefiting the company’s strategy and vision. A company that gives can quite literally get the world’s resources to work for its benefit.

Why would we give away something valuable? Rephrasing the question: what is the cost of getting people to voluntarily come to us and develop our business for us?

Internet Leads the Way
Businesses that have assimilated this new way of thinking give people as much as possible without charging them and, consequently, get them to do things for the company.

It is easy to categorize businesses that have adopted the Strategy of Giving as web companies with their own rules of engagement. In the early days the web was based on sharing and giving. Companies saw the potential and wanted in on the action. Charging for products and services was almost impossible. So, the model of giving was formed. Many web companies adobted this model as the foundation for their strategy and are some of today’s leading success stories.

New business models started first on the internet will ultimately affect all industries. The older and the more established the industry, the bigger the change will be.

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Tags: nptech, strategyofgiving