Every organization has a persona. An identity. A voice.

The challenge for the communications professional is not just to find and maintain that voice, but to do so with honesty and integrity. With authenticity.

That’s not just a communications challenge.

As one fellow blogger noted:

"As digital media becomes more easily manipulated, and half-truths and falsehoods get instant, worldwide dissemination, we’ll see more videos get doctored and appear on the news. We’ll see more photos being altered. We’ll see people spin the truth to reflect any narrative they want. And while we’ll see some marketers embrace a transparent way of doing business, we’ll see more global corporations cover their tracks to protect themselves."

It’s not just global corporations. This can be particularly difficult for fundraisers. We’re in the business of trust… creating and maintaining trust. Even more so than a commercial entity.

And that’s why I think we must hold ourselves to a more exacting standard.

While it may be tempting to simply create the story that shows our worth, a fictional case, no matter how representative, is still fiction. Do we have a responsibility to note it as such?

To what degree can a testimonial be doctored? A quote “corrected”?

To whom do we report gross revenues from an event and to whom do we admit net?

We are marketers. We have a job to do. The mission of our organization depends on it.

And while it may not be immediately apparent, I think it’s “how” we do that job that will make the difference between donor development and donor churn.