Game of Thrones, Dot-org Edition

With the arguable exception of Cersei Lannister, none of the Game of Thrones characters is truly evil. What’s driving the drama and the conflict isn’t ‘good vs. evil.” It’s a beautifully engineered set of cross purposes, where in pursuit of their passionate objectives, each character inevitably collides with another character and mayhem ensues.

We see a similar if less grisly dynamic at work at many non-profits. Program staff aren’t bad people, but their job goals are often at sharp odds with fundraisers.’ Major gifts people and direct marketers aren’t inherently hostile to one another, but insane income projections and careless attribution rules have sparked bitter conflicts between House Major Giving and House Membership at many a charity.

Craver and Belford have deconstructed some of the game of thrones-esque machinations that make life impossible for fundraisers. It’s an important read, but be warned – Roger’s view of things is even less charitable than my own.

See what you think.