Last month, the Girl Scouts of Western Washington were in quite the predicament. When confronted with the dilemma to either accept a $100,000 major gift that would be highly beneficial to the advancement of the organization and some of its participants, or return the donation and lose out on the funding but avoid having to discriminate against transgender girls, it was evident that the Girl Scouts of Western Washington prioritized their mission over money. But they didn’t stop with returning the donation. As any smart and adaptable organization would, they leveraged the opportunity and started an online fundraising campaign to recoup the $100,000, attracting nearly three times the goal in less than a week. The Girl Scouts of Western Washington’s actions showcased the organization’s values, their ability and willingness to stand up for those values, and reinforced their brand, effectively telling the organization’s story and connecting with donors who hold the same values. In the words of Megan Ferland, Girl Scouts of Western Washington’s CEO, “every girl should have the opportunity to be a girl scout if she wants to.”
So what can your nonprofit take from this story? To start, it is important to identify under what circumstance you should return a major gift or donation. Continue reading “Major Gifts Donations: Return to Sender?”