We’re commenting throughout this week on David Meerman Scott’s claim that the ultimate goal we all seek is ‘attention for our company’. In yesterday’s post, I raised the questions: Is attention for our company the goal of Transformational Giving? Is TG simply another way to achieve the standard marketing goal?

You’ve already undoubtedly guessed that I intend to answer in the negative, but what may surprise you is that the ‘no’ is multifaceted, comprehensive, and emphatic.

Today, let me begin with the second part of David Meerman Scott’s formulation of the phrase ‘attention for our company’ and demonstrate why Transformational Giving is not focused ‘for our company’ at all.

One of the key themes I’m teaching in the day-long TG seminars this month is that fundraising is an inadequate way to describe the biblical framework for giving because it introduces a Kingdom ‘nonentity’–the nonprofit organization–and seeks to make it the locus of God’s activity.

Saying that the nonprofit is a Kingdom nonentity does not mean that nonprofits are unimportant or unnecessary. Far from it!

It does mean, however, that–in the biblical framework–institutions grow God’s people and then ultimately become unnecessary, because God’s people reach their full stature in Christ. (Contrast this with the traditional development framework in which God’s people grow institutions; and then God’s people become unnecessary, except for as human ATM machines who support the work of the nonprofit.)

This explains why John the Baptist says he must become less, so that Christ can become more…and why Jesus offers this scathing offhand in Luke 21:5-6 about the most central institution in his own time, the Jewish temple, which he knew was about to give way to an eternal, living temple:

Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ‘As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.’

The contrast between traditional development’s focus ‘for our organization’ and Transformational Giving’s focus ‘for the champion’ can best be seen in these two slides drawn from the seminar, which contrast the roles of performer, audience, and stage in each framework.

In the traditional framework, the nonprofit is on the stage, attempting to achieve David Meerman Scott’s dream of achieving attention for itself:

The nonprofit calls attention to itself

In the Transformational Giving framework, however, notice the shift:

And the focus of attention is...

In Transformational Giving, the nonprofit is the convening mechanism, the stage, the platform for the champion’s activity and growth…

…but not the focus of the attention.

More tomorrow.