Maybe you’ve noticed a certain lack of excitement about your organization and its mission. Or maybe not. The fact is that annual nonprofit attrition could be as high as 40% or more. In reality, many causes sacrifice their donors with their constant ‘begging.’ I use that word intentionally.

You see, there’s a mix of factors influencing people not to care about your nonprofit. For instance, younger generations seem to not care about giving to causes without seeing the impact. Also, technology is making fundraising much more specialized and effective. Finally, donors know they could make a powerful social difference and never once give to a nonprofit. For example, they could support for-profit social enterprises.

Despite the reality that donors have more options, many nonprofits remarkably continue with the ‘charity’ mentality. In other words, they come from a position of lack and need instead of one of power. Nonprofits are a business. The only difference is a tax-exempt status and ‘profits’ reinvested into the organization.

Have you wondered if your donors have stopped caring about your cause? Well, the reality is that many donors don’t stop caring about the cause. But they do stop caring about your approach to engaging them. They stopped caring because they don’t see any personal benefit or opportunity in supporting your nonprofit and see no value except as an obligation. If your organization is not resonating with potential supporters, these six reasons might offer some insight.

1. Your cause doesn’t matter because it doesn’t matter to you

You have to care more about the cause than your donors do. If you don’t care, your donors won’t care. Where this comes into play most often is in fundraising. Many CEOs and executive directors don’t like fundraising or learning it well, so you don’t turn off your donors. Here’s the bottom line: Why should donors care if you don’t care and don’t inspire passion? Sure, they could care about the cause, but chances are there’s another nonprofit in town making an impact and treating donors well (which means not asking them for money all the time).

2. Your disrespect your nonprofit team with low pay

People who care about the cause and what your organization does will have more passion and energy than anyone can give them. They’ll work as hard as possible to make the cause real and essential in your community. But, the fact you’re not paying them well. As a result, you have a team of people who may be burned out, looking for another job, and certainly aren’t happy. Treat your nonprofit like a business—not a charity. Invest in your team.

3. Your leaders aren’t shining examples of your mission

If your organization’s leaders aren’t passionate about the cause and sharing it with others, your donors won’t care. Again, why should donors care about your organization if you have a dysfunctional board of directors and managers don’t inspire people to operate as a cohesive team? Contrary to what you may think, people can tell if your leaders don’t care. Nonprofits can sometimes be highly dysfunctional. You may think it’s an internal matter, but it’s not. If you have a revolving door of staff or volunteers, it’s a big tell about the dysfunction.

4. Your donors don’t believe in its value or effectiveness

If you tell donors, they should support your cause, but you’re not telling them why—or how, they won’t care. If you ask donors to support your cause, but don’t tell them how much good it does, they will not care. But it goes beyond just the stories even though those are important. Everyone knows we live and work in a world of data and information. Therefore, your nonprofit has to demonstrate its value with quantifiable numbers. In short, you have to back up your nonprofit stories with concrete data encouraging donor investment.

5. Your cause doesn’t matter because it seems desperate and manipulative

People care when they see that you have a plan that will work. They care when they know you have a vision for the future and confidence in your ability to reach it. Also, they care when they see you know what you’re doing and where you’re going within a strong and capable organization. In the 20^th century, many people entered the nonprofit sector because they wanted to make a difference. Still, they thought that was good enough. It’s not. Donors want to invest in leaders who know what they’re doing. Nonprofits are serious business.

6. Your cause is incomprehensible and, therefore unimportant

If a donor has no idea how much good you do and how many people you help, they won’t care about your cause. If a donor has no idea how long you’ve been doing what you do and no idea what your organization accomplished in the past, they won’t support you. Your history and your nonprofit story matter. You want to say that you’ve been in business for so many years, and you’ve got a successful track record worthy of your support. Again, this harkens to people entering the field who train and take the work seriously and invest time and money to treat their nonprofits like a business.

How to turn things around

If you find that your cause never truly got traction or fell out of favor with donors, you may identify one or more of these reasons as the cause. Again, the only way to correct this situation is to genuinely care more about the cause as a business and not a charity with the “beggar’s mentality.” Be a shining example of your mission. Be confident in your organization’s success. Be excited about your organization’s impact. If you do these things, you’ll attract new supporters who care about your cause. And more importantly, you will keep the ones you have.

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