This month, MM takes on nonprofit disease, rebranding and e-newsletters.

By Katya Andresen

No. 1: Field of Dreams Syndrome. Those who have this disease believe “if you build it, they will come.” By “they,” I mean a big team of generous donors. For example, if you have FODS, you think that if you build a Web site and stick a “Donate Now” button on it, donors will arrive and click. This disease also manifests itself as an assumption that uttering your mission statement will inspire people to give. If you find yourself saying, “If people only knew, they would … ” then you have FODS. Declaring your existence is not a fundraising campaign. It is a symptom of FODS.