Politics aside, the president-elect's historic campaign offers tips for nonprofit fundraisers.

By Jocelyn Harmon

Regardless of your organization’s size or mission — and regardless of your politics — there are important lessons to learn from this historic campaign. I’ve listed some of them here; ignore them at your own risk.

1. Your donors aren’t listening to you.
They’re listening to what their friends, family members and trusted advisers say about you. We’ve all heard the reports: People don’t trust institutions like the federal government, corporations and even nonprofits. This begs the question: Who do we look to when we need to make decisions about how to vote, donate and behave? Who do we trust? The answer: our friends.