Nonprofits Must Stop Burning Trust, Seth Godin Warns

Nonprofits operate in an environment of constant urgency. Funding goals loom, demand rises, and programs expand. Nonprofit leaders are often seeking sharper tactics — stronger subject lines, more compelling appeals, and new technologies — to engage more donors.

But at the We Are for Good Summit, author and entrepreneur Seth Godin offered a different challenge: Before chasing growth, nonprofits must reconsider how they lead — how they build trust, manage attachment, and make decisions in moments that feel risky.

“The way we rebuild trust is by reliably making promises and keeping them,” Godin said. 

Trust Is Built on Consistency, Not Authenticity or Urgency

Though nonprofits tend to speak about rebuilding trust through authentic storytelling, Godin challenged that approach.

“What's critical to understand is that none of this has to do with authenticity,” he said. “... It's based on consistency. The same way your brakes — you trust them because they always work. If your brakes only failed one out of 100 times, you wouldn't drive because that’s enough to break [trust].” 

In an era when inboxes are crowded and donors are skeptical, the temptation to manufacture urgency is strong. He described how easily a nonprofit can burn trust in pursuit of short-term metrics — sending an email to 10,000 supporters that suggests their library card will be canceled, all to drive clicks and $10 gifts. 

“Well, what they just did was burn down 100 years' worth of trust because they weren't consistent,” Godin said. “They authentically needed to raise the money, but they weren’t consistent because when you get an email from them, you want it to be like all the other emails that came that you could trust.”

When the pressure to perform is constant, the temptation of a short-term gain is understandable. But trust requires discipline — and discipline carries a cost.

“You give up freedom when you build trust — the freedom to do whatever the hell you want,” he said. “In exchange, you keep your promise.” 

Burnout Comes From Attachment, Not Volume

Godin also reframed burnout — a familiar challenge in mission-driven work — as a matter of attachment rather than workload alone.

“When the work becomes important, we get attached to it because it's our fuel,” Godin said. “It's our fuel that says, ‘Yeah, I took this job. I get paid less than other people. I'm getting up early. I'm working super hard because someone might die, or someone might relapse, or someone might whatever.’ And that pushes us forward, and then when it doesn't happen because [the problem] can't get fixed every time, the attachment is what causes us pain, not what happened.” 

That attachment can make setbacks feel personal — whether it’s a donor declining a gift, a campaign missing its goal, or a board decision going in an unexpected direction.

“All burnout is is a symptom of stress,” he said. “Stress is intention. Stress is wanting two things at the same time, to flee, to stay — and if you're getting burned out, it's probably because you're attached.” 

He likened nonprofit leaders to emergency room doctors who are fully present and committed, but cannot cling to outcomes beyond their control.

“When that patient leaves the room, you leave the room too — that you are no longer attached to the outcome,” Godin said. “You did what you could do, and now whatever is going to happen is going to happen. That's not easy, but that's what a professional always does.”

Fear Comes From the Feeling of Risk, Not the Risk Itself

Nonprofit leaders often describe themselves as risk-averse. Innovation, pilot programs, and bold campaigns may feel dangerous. But avoiding them can be riskier still.

“We don't have trouble with risk,” he said. “We have trouble with the feeling of risk. Those are different things. It feels risky to fly somewhere on an airplane. It's not. Actually, it's safer than getting to the airport in a car. It just feels risky. It might feel risky to go forward with a new program, but in fact, if you don't, you're taking a much bigger risk.” 

For nonprofits, that distinction often surfaces in debates about innovation, such as new program models, shifts in fundraising strategy, or technology adoption — including artificial intelligence. 

“You don't have a plumber on staff,” Godin said. “You hire a plumber when you need a plumber, because your institution doesn't do plumbing, it just needs plumbing, right?”

Email automation can now send personalized emails to segmented lists of supporters based on a variety of data points. Donors aren’t inspired to give so a nonprofit can hire someone to handwrite fundraising emails, Godin said. 

While innovative tools can replace tasks, they can’t replace leadership. As Godin said, leadership is about deciding what matters.

“We make decisions,” he said. “We don't make stuff.”