That's the title of an excellent post written by Chris Houchens, of Shotgun Marketing. He directs his message to small businesses, but the question holds true for the nonprofit sector as well.
In his post, Houchens cautions against straying from your core mission to chase after short-term gains. He uses the example of a multinational celebration that ran away to the circus:
In my hometown, there's an annual downtown event that celebrates different nationalities. During this celebration of different cultures, there has been a three-on-three basketball tournament, "Teen Idol" competition, and they sell lots of funnelcakes and corndogs. The organizers say that the festival really shows the international flavor of the community.
The question is: Is it a celebration of ethnic cultures -- or a circus/carnival?
...Because a few of those people attending the ethnic festival want to see the mariachis, eat an egg roll, and watch the Spanish dancers. Each year as the corndog crowd grows, these core users will fade away. And then what will the organizers be left with?
Too often, small nonprofits chase after donors' dollars and find themselves "like chaff in the wind." They don't hold true to their mission. Instead, these organizations move from glitzy project to glitzy project, dressing themselves with the latest charitable trend. The result? They become a one-hit-wonder instead of a true superstar.
Yes, you have to be attractive to your donors. But that doesn't mean you have to change who you are. It sounds like corny dating advice, but it's true, nonetheless. Stay the course; hold true to your core mission -- the right donors will come to you. Then, you'll find lasting growth that replaces the short term gains at the expense of your soul -- or rather, mission.
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