Why do people look like their dogs and why should you care?

A few weeks back Tom Belford at The Agitator riffing on Seth Godin, riffing on why people look like their dogs wrote:

"When you buy a Powerbook, a Harley, a Field & Stream, a RED teeshirt from the Gap, a MINI, organic produce, a Doberman, Bob Dylan's latest album, Jimmy Choo shoes, a Starbucks Iced Caffe Mocha you are saying something to yourself and about yourself, consciously or unconsciously. 'This [brand] is me. It affirms who I am. I connect with it intellectually and emotionally. We belong together.'

What does this mean in terms of marketing nonprofit organizations and their causes? Your marketing should aim to evoke this same reaction from a prospect: 'I belong here, supporting this organization, this cause.' And then, even more importantly, your subsequent marketing needs to evoke reaffirmation -- validation -- of that initial impression: 'Yes, I made the right decision, I do belong here.'"

So why do people look like their dogs? Because it validates them. So why do people give to nonprofits? Because it validates them.

Probably the best fundraising blogger writing on this connection between donors and why the give is Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog, who nearly single-handedly is trying to inspire nonprofits to respect their donors, which for some agencies, is going to be a very large cultural change indeed.