In general, “be authentic” is good advice to nonprofits.
However, to be successful in fundraising long term you will absolutely need to do some things don’t feel authentic to you at first…
For instance, it doesn’t feel authentic for anyone to send 12 pieces of direct mail a year. Yet tens of thousands of nonprofits are joyfully do it each year because it raises so much money, is so good at identifying new major donors, and keeps the relationship going with people you can’t meet in person.
It’s doesn’t feel authentic for anyone to send out 50 fundraising emails a year. Yet that’s happening thousands of times a year from successful fundraising organizations.
For a relationship-driven MGO it doesn’t always feel authentic to keep a spreadsheet with an annual communication plan and giving goal for each major donor. Yet that’s happening hundreds of thousands of times a year by MGOs who know that “having a plan and working the plan” is the key to maximizing revenue from major donors.
My point is just to say that the idea of “authenticity” is often taken too far. It becomes a binary when it should be a guiding principle.
Stay authentic to who you are and what you believe in. But don’t miss out on successful strategies and tactics because you wouldn’t naturally do them.