We talk a lot about the proper use of pronouns in fundraising communications and fundraising appeals. Our perspective is based on trying to demonstrate that the nonprofit organization is donor centered. In some circles this is referred to as adopting the marketplace perspective. There was a very high profile example today of how to do this correctly. Using this example is probably a bit risky. We really try to keep politics out of our workday, and certainly not on our company website, but this is just such a wonderful example we’ll run the risk of being offensive to some. Most people will agree that this individual knows a thing or two about Branding and Marketing.
Being donor centered means that when your organization uses pronouns, things can get moved around a bit. We maintain that ‘we’ represents the donor, and constituents and the community. ‘We’ should never define the nonprofit institution. To learn more, take a look at this Fundraising Matters Article: Use Pronouns to Maintain Marketplace Perspective and consider today’s example of the best way to use “We” when communicating with your fundraising constituents.
Trump Inaugural Address Focuses On ‘We,’ Leaves Himself Out Of Speech Almost Entirely
PETER HASSON, Reporter, Associate Editor 12:46 PM 01/20/2017
President Donald Trump focused his inaugural address on ‘we’ the American people, leaving himself out of the speech almost entirely.
The first time Trump referred to himself came about halfway through the speech, when he said: “The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.”
Trump’s other two references to himself came shortly afterwards.
He referred to “we” the American people 45 times over the course of the address, including a string of mentions at the end of his speech, playing off his “Make America Great Again” slogan: “Together, We Will Make America Strong Again. We Will Make America Wealthy Again. We Will Make America Proud Again. We Will Make America Safe Again. And, Yes, Together, We Will Make America Great Again.”