Why nonprofits are like Sicily: beautiful but broken

What do nonprofits and Sicily have in common?

Picture this: You're at a resort in Sicily with a million-dollar beach view (on a hundred dollar budget). Maybe it looks a little something like this.

If you’re going to get out of your comfort zone, this is a stunning place to enjoy some discomfort.

The food is incredible, the people are passionate, and you can’t help but feel like you’re experiencing something special.

But when you need towels, the beachside hotel doesn't have any towels. The poolside hotel across the street has plenty of towels but no beach access.

The hotel WiFi works on your balcony and in the hallway but not your room. And the reservation system is a massive paper ledger that looks like a prop from “Game of Thrones.”

Let’s review how this compares to the nonprofit world.

Sicily and nonprofits both have lots to love, but that love comes with compromises.

Both have beautiful hearts, passionate people, and resources that should be changing the world. But both are also stuck with dated technology and poor user experiences that undermine everything they're trying to achieve.

The difference? We can let Sicily off the hook. It has a struggling economy and a complicated history. But nonprofits sitting on transformative AI tools while donors abandon their donation forms? That's a choice. No excuses.

Beautiful missions can't compensate for ugly user experiences

These are donation form screenshots I’ve collected over the past few months. These aren’t from the “Back to the Future,” “Hot Tub Time Machine,” or the Wayback Machine. Every single one represents an organization raising $10 million or more annually. And they look exactly the same as they did seven years ago (the one on the far right is from 2018).

Year these forms were created, from L-R: 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2018.

Meanwhile, I can accidentally subscribe to three streaming services while ordering pizza from my phone.

The gap isn't just noticeable — it's existential.

Here's the dark comedy: according to data from NextAfter, 27% of nonprofits don't even send donation receipts. Address autocomplete — which increases conversion by 2% according to research — is virtually nonexistent on nonprofit forms. We're talking about organizations that desperately need every dollar, yet they're making it harder to give than it is to buy detergent on Amazon.

Donors will only be patient for so long

Your donors live in an Uber world. They expect McDonald's to know their last order, their location, and exactly what offer will work based on time of day. They get frustrated when Netflix doesn't remember where they paused their show.

This is how your donors pay for things every day.

Then they try to donate to your cause.

The cruel irony is that when someone buys something, they get a tangible product that justifies a little friction. When someone gives to your organization, they only get good vibes - that feeling of being generous. But if your donation process is clunky, they still got what they came for: confirmation of their own generosity. They just didn't complete the transaction. But hey, they tried.

That's why nonprofits have to work even harder than e-commerce. We're selling intangible rewards — and if the experience sucks, people can feel good about themselves without actually giving you money.

Don’t tempt people to take their dollars elsewhere

Sicily is resource-strapped — salaries are about 30% lower than mainland Italy, which is already lower than the rest of Europe. Sound familiar? Nonprofits face similar resource constraints compared to the broader economy.

But here's what both are missing: their "tourists" — whether actual tourists or potential donors — have expectations set by the best experiences in their daily lives. When you don't meet those expectations, it doesn't matter how beautiful your mission is or how passionate your people are.

As charming as this is, people only have time for quaint experiences when they’re on vacation.

Sicily will always be beautiful, but its tourism struggles because beauty isn't enough when expectations aren't met. The same is true for nonprofits - your mission's beauty won't save you if donors can't easily give to it. The tools to fix this exist. The question is whether you'll use them before your “tourists” take their money elsewhere.

What’s the next chapter for nonprofits? Learning how to embrace technology without losing the heart of your mission.

Read this next: 10 donor engagement strategies that let tech supplement tradition