Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Drinking the Kool-aid

One of the goals to achieve in a non-profit student organization is to have members "bought-in" to what you are doing. Meaning, they sincerely feel that the organization matters and are passionate about it. This, in cults, is called "drinking the kool-aid."

Last year, HERO exec "bought into" the idea that it was possible to raise $306,000 as crazy as the number was because the year before it raised $75,000. HERO exec drank the kool-aid and passed the punch bowl around all year last year and guess what? The organization raised a little over $306,000.

The act of drinking the kool-aid is just as important as passing the punch bowl and getting others to drink the kool-aid. It's about being passionate and having that passion rub off on others. This perpetuates people to actively contribute to the organization, which translates to success. In the process, it also creates a "cult-like" culture of the organization, which is a good thing. It makes people feel like they belong. If the entire organization drank the kool-aid and passed the punch bowl to to the entire campus, think of all that can be achieved?

1 comment:

Karen Miller Russell said...

This is amazing because it's more than Dance Marathon or Relay for Life, and they're well-established organizations. I think it proves exactly your point -- it's all according to what you THINK can be done.