Facts and passion a crusade do not make, says Lisa Witter.

Question: Where do non-profits go wrong?

Lisa Witter: I absolutely think that the largest mistake that non profits make is they think that the facts are the most important thing. They say “As long as people know John McCain’s voting record, as long as people know that if we don’t pass this environmental bill, as long as people know that if we vote for a supreme court justice this is gonna happen,” you know, that’s not enough, you also have to talk to people’s hearts and minds, you also have to tell compelling stories, you also have to connect with people emotionally. So I think a lot of people running non profits, I think we’re so earnest and wanna change the world and we know the facts and if people just knew the facts, but that’s not enough, you have to connect with people emotionally too. Ronald Reagan was great at this, he knew, he didn’t make ads about the facts, he connected with people emotionally and this is why Barack Obama is doing so well, you know, people say “Oh he leaves out the details” yeah there’s some details that I think he’s gonna fill in as he goes on but he understands that the first thing you have to do is empathize and connect with people emotionally and that’s making him such a powerful candidate.