Inclusion Best Practices Around Titles/Gender in RE

Hannah Shaffer
Hannah Shaffer
Seventh Anniversary Participant Facilitator 1 Boomerang (2024)
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussions

I want to hear from you - how has your organization handled gendered titles/genders in the Raiser's Edge in light of inclusivity? And, what has been the result (i.e., any pushback from donors)?

Comments

  • Chris Nungesser
    Chris Nungesser
    Fifth Anniversary Kudos 3 Name Dropper Participant

    I agree with what others have written. My organization now offers Mx. as a title option as @Austen Brown suggested. And we have also done the same thing @Carrie Aranda mentioned with moving toward more informal addressee/salutations. That second change was made in part to be more inclusive. Another factor was that, I believe, it helps us stay closer with the donor. It's a small thing. I know. But we typically call our close acquaintances by their first name or nickname. We don't call them Ms. Smith.

    The two exceptions to going more informal have been in our business partnerships and our formal event invitations. I could see moving away from the more formal formats with the corporate partners. I'm a little less sure how we will proceed with the formal events. I think we like the formality a little. I'm interested to read other responses to thread. Perhaps you all have ideas here.

  • Brenda Ryther
    Brenda Ryther
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 1 Participant Facilitator 1

    We made the decision years ago to take the informal approach for all of our general mailings. As Dariel mentioned, it really does vary from organization to organization. We did a poll, just asking how they would like to be listed in publications. The overwhelming response from our base was a preference to list no titles with first names and last names only. For example, we always listed Mr. and Mrs. John Smith for married couples. Alot of responses came from the men who wanted their wife's first names to be listed also, which YES, they should be!

  • Faith Murray
    Faith Murray Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 First Reply Name Dropper

    We have not had any donor requests to add to or change our titles. We occasionally have the odd duck circumstance: the widow who follows old school etiquette and asks NOT to be referred to as “Mrs. Jane Doe” but to continue using her late husband's name “Mrs. John Doe” (apparently in old – like, super old – school format, “Mrs. Jane Doe” once implied a divorced status). We have a handful of professional couples that prefer to have the wife's name listed with the husband's on the Addressee line. I had one lady angry that we applied the “Ms.” title, because, as she explained, the anonymization of marital status was the precursor of the downfall of the family structure. And we do have a rare few same-sex couples who have asked to be called “Mr. & Mr.” or the like. Our general policy is to respect donor's wishes when expressed, as long as it does not conflict with our religious identity.

    Donor base is everything. The vast majority of our donors are Boomers and up, which is pretty common among nonprofits.

    You might do a survey if:

    • You are a college with a young alumni base
    • You are a nonprofit that works alongside public schools and deal heavily with the families of school-age children (such as after-school financial literacy programs, etc.)
    • You do an age append and segment your donor list, and only survey people ages 40 and under.
    • Your nonprofit mission appeals specifically to demographics likely to include a high percentage of alternative views on gender.
    • Before doing a survey, you might pull a small sample of your “ideal donors” out of your database, with whom you have a strong relationship, and ask them in person about their thoughts during cultivation visits. Kind of like doing a feasibility study before going public in a campaign, you can test the waters before doing something that might alienate a broad donor base.

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