HILBORN RECOMMENDS...Worthy and Prepared

publication date: Jan 29, 2014

“No matter how noble the cause, how dedicated the staff or how badly the service provided is needed, a charity will only be successful in fundraising if they become worthy of the support and are prepared to receive it.”

The concept is, perhaps, not new however in Worthy and Prepared, authors Peter Barrow and Ed Sluga effectively find new and thoughtful ways of expressing the basic principles that fundraisers need to follow to build a successful development program.

The destiny proposition

 Sluga and Barrow use the following equation to define what separates the “haves” from the “have nots” in the world of charity fundraising. They call it the destiny equation:


In this application, “destiny” is a clear and unequivocal understanding of how and why an organization makes the world a better place. It is also the “ultimate desired outcome” of the organization. Some well-known destiny statements, include  –

  • Cancer Can Be Beaten
  • Give the Gift of Life
  • Everyone knows someone who is touched by the United Way

The authors challenge the thought that a destiny statement is just another fancy word for mission statement.  Mission statements, they assert, are usually statements of belief. A destiny statement or proposition is tied to outcomes. It should tell everyone:

  • Not just what your organization does, but why it does it
  • How the work of your organization creates a better world
  • Why this is important to all of us
  • Why we need to support it

In Worthy and Prepared, you are talked through the how and why of crafting a destiny proposition, with the knowledge that the destiny proposition is a journey that is unlikely to be completed in the lifetime of your work with your organization.  It is literally your ultimate destiny, an ideal, a transcending wish.

To learn more, order Worthy and Prepared. A Civil Sector Press publication.



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