A colleague sent me this video the other day, posted on Katya’s Non Profit Marketing Blog. It made me both laugh and cringe.
We’d never find ourselves bartering with our hair stylist or in a restaurant on the price of a service received. We’d certainly never do it after we’ve already had our highlights done or eaten three entrees. We understand the value of the service being provided – and agree to the costs upfront.
There are costs associated with every organization – each product, each program. The non-profit sector needs to both educate folks about their costs, and at the same time, not apologize for having them.
Once we get more comfortable, as a sector, around the real costs of running our programs – we can educate funders, donors and the community. And we’ll stop undercutting ourselves.