Will the tidal changes of non-profit organizations be sold to donors?

A few days ago, my researcher was discussing their fundraising work with a global non-profit organization, and she was told that the organization did not accept gifts that might harm its integrity or put charity in awkward positions. This is a good thing. . Charities know that they must adhere to and be loyal to their mission, even if it means the loss of donated funds. After that, I found an article. from

Non-profit organization quarterly from

 The title is "The concept of negative goodwill: When does the naming rights cross the boundaries?"

New York City Public Library

I smoke because the same researcher is a New Yorker and has long complained that Blackstone's founder Stephen Schwartzman renamed the Fifth Avenue Central New York City Public Library to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. In her opinion, the corporate giant printed his name on a historic landmark in New York City. She is not the only New Yorker who feels the institution's legacy has been compromised.

Abington High School

In the article, this time is Schwarzman, this time in Pennsylvania, hoping to change the name of a precious high school from Abington High School to Abingdon Schwarzman High School. He is seeking to donate $25 million to a technology center and also wants approval from a contractor hired for the technology center to be built. This time, the community has risen.

Change.org election

As mentioned in the article mentioned above, a petition on Change.org writes: "The price, pride, history and memory of your thousands of alumni attending Abington High School. Is it $25 million?" Another petition said: "To pay tribute to this man's excessive self is not a gift to the school, but a gift to himself.

Negative goodwill

For many years, there have been many other major donor examples that require their names to be placed in buildings, rooms, libraries, and even renamed organizations. However, naming opportunities are a balance that must take into account the institution and its heritage. In the case of Abington High School, the school left a meaningful legacy in the community, and it was deeper and more leaders than Schwarzman's $25 million.

Nonprofit organization leadership

I have to wonder if the school's leadership position [sometimes the board or the principal] asks Schwartzman to reconsider, the community whose name changes will not react so negatively. ? My guess, according to the explanation, once Schwartzman promised $25 million, the school will continue to change the plan for the high school name, if not for counterattack.

Handling naming opportunities

Although I have never seen Schwarzman, in all respects, he is a tough and demanding person who wants to win. However, nonprofit leaders must consider the history and significance of their communities before agreeing to the conditions set by donors in exchange for major donations. I realize that saying "no" to a lot of money can be challenging, especially if it can have terrible effects, but the reality is that the community and the public don't like to succumb to the benefits.

• If there are donors in your community who are looking to change the rules of the game, don't skip and accept the gift. In fact, be prepared to stay away from it, especially before you fully understand the terms.
• If you want to change the name of a building or even your organization to the name of the primary donor, carefully consider the pros and cons of this particular behavior. Will it keep a good relationship with your community? Does this make sense to the organization? Can you receive the gift correctly?
• Consider the amount of gifts and the cost of naming opportunities. In other words, if you ask to change the name of your institution, is the donation large enough to be commensurate with such behavior, and everything you might lose, including goodwill and sometimes other donor support?

Perhaps what happened at Abington High School was the beginning of a trend. The public eventually got tired of the capitalists printing their names on the institution without considering the history and heritage of the organization within the community. Only time will tell if this is the case, but it is a pleasure to know that some organizations will not easily ignore history and heritage.

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