I don’t know how we’ll spend your Giving Tuesday gift and that’s okay. Here’s why.
An open letter from Clay Colombe, Siċaŋġu Co CEO
We’ve all seen the donation requests. It’s usually something like “Your $20 donation will provide three meals to a child.” They’re almost always accompanied by a photo of a smiling – or worse, hungry – child.
It’s easy to see why organizations ask for donations this way: it works. In fact, it’s step one in virtually every fundraising how to guide: be specific about how donations will be used.
However, this is a very transactional way of thinking and is not in line with our Lak̇ota values. Moreover, there isn’t a nonprofit in the world who would prefer a restricted donation over one that is able to be used flexibly for the greatest need or opportunity
It’s time for a new trust-based, human-centered approach to giving.
Let’s use the opening example to illustrate. Assuming the donation is, in fact, spent on food for three meals for a child, that brings up several, much more important questions than “How will my donation be spent?”
Clay Colombe (Siċaŋġu Lak̇ota) advocates for a more trust-based approach to individual giving. One that prioritizes the relationship between the donor and the organization, rather than focusing on the financial transaction.
Who prepares the meals? Are they paid a fair wage in safe working conditions? What about the people behind the scenes? Someone clearly wrote the request for the donation and created a graphic. Someone else ensured my $20 made it through the nonprofit’s accounting system to where it needs to go to help the child. Another person helped identify and enroll children in need. Do those individuals receive benefits and opportunities for growth and development?
No matter how great a program is, it will have no impact without people to run it.
That’s why we’ve decided to take a trust-based, human-centered approach to Giving Tuesday. That means that your gift will not be allocated to any one project or expense.
So how will we use your donation? To be honest, I’m not sure. That will be up to our amazing team leading the work on the ground. In some cases that might end up being program supplies or equipment. But it might also mean travel to visit a peer, enrollment in an online course, or costs to support working from home.
Some might say that this is a ploy to avoid accountability, but that is a very transactional mindset. We are not going to treat your donation as a transaction in service of new equipment or supplies.
Instead, your donation is a sign of your commitment to strengthening our mutual relationship. This mindset is much more in line with our Lak̇ota worldview, which values connection over financial assets.
I admit this is a risk, and we may end up with fewer donors than if we had just run a simple, targeted campaign. But, again, we’re not measuring our success in how many donors we have, but in how strong our relationship is with those donors. Our donors are part of a movement for Indigenous wellbeing, sovereignty, and justice; not just supporters of a shiny new purchase.
Students at our Lak̇ota immersion school engage in place-based learning about buffalo and the sacred He Sapa (Black Hills) on a field trip to the Wolakota Buffalo Range, which is another of our projects.
Join us this Giving Tuesday by investing in the people who make our programs run, and let’s usher in a new era of giving.
To learn more about Siċaŋġu Co before donating, visit our website, Facebook page, or Instagram. You can also subscribe to our newsletter or submit an inquiry through our website.
