An Exercise in Transformation

In the midst of tackling that problem, they realized they didn’t really understand what their donors wanted and needed. So they veered off to do some research on why donors give. And they worked closely with the projects division every step of the way.

As an example, Tandon offers a change in the way the organization sends annual community progress reports to donors who support World Vision U.S.’ immensely popular child-sponsorship program. Previously, the project staff wrote the reports from a more universal point of view, talking in the third person about new developments and successes that occur because of the donor’s ongoing support. By listening to donors and relying on the research into donor motivation, the team realized that the progress reports would be more effective if they were written from the perspective of the child beneficiary of a particular donor’s gifts. The development staff took the request to the project staff, and the collaboration began.