Got Milk? What Non-Profits Can Learn from the Decline in the Dairy Industry

Canada's dairy industry has a problem: People aren't drinking as much milk as they used to.

According to data released by Statistics Canada, per capita consumption of milk in Canada has fallen by 18 percent since 1995.

Why is this happening? 

One reason is demographics: Canada is getting older. This means fewer children drinking less milk.

Another is ethnicity. Canada welcomes many immigrants from parts of the world where milk is not perceived as a food staple, as it is here. 

When immigrants come to Canada, they bring along culinary traditions that often don’t include milk.

Another phenomenon hitting the dairy sector particularly hard is animal rights. A recent survey found that a significant portion of the drop in milk consumption is due to the belief that industrial farming practices are unethical.

As well, the healthy foods sector is promoting other ways to get protein, calcium and other nutrients, such as almond, soy and rice milk.

Then there are those who say that milk is actually bad for us. A Google search turns up web pages titled "Eight reasons to stop drinking milk now" and "Study suggests milk is bad for bones, heart."

Finally, there is all the competition: Juice, tea, coffee, pop, sports drinks, and more.

In the face of this, the dairy industry needs to do more than buy ads that say "Got milk?" They need to take the issues head-on and take them seriously--not rest on their laurels as a healthy drink.

What does this mean for non-profits?

First off, if a downturn can happen to something as traditional and wholesome as milk, it can happen to anyone.

Second, like with the dairy industry, our main source of "customers" (our donors) is shrinking. The older demographic is literally dying off, and we haven't figured out a way to get younger people to "drink" more of our products.

Third, ethnicity is a challenge. It's not that people from other cultures aren't charitable; they are. But their charity may be more limited due to income, or because they funnel all their giving into the own community and its many needs.

Plus, immigrants send a lot of extra money back home to help their families through remittances. They may not have disposable income for charitable causes.

Fourth, if they do want to give to a traditional charity, what do they know about us? And what do we know about them? One of the fastest-growing ethnic communities in Manitoba is the Filipino community. How many groups offer information in Tagalog?

Fifth, we have our critics, too. Why send money to Africa--why not keep it at home? What about waste and corruption? Why should we help those who won't find jobs?

And, like with non-dairy sources of nourishment, there are alternatives to traditional charities. Many people today wonder why they should give to big, faceless and "corporate" non-profits when they can start their own charities. 

Sixth, competition is a reality. There are over 80,000 non-profits in Canada. Why should people give to yours?

What's the solution?

People in the dairy industry are calling on it to become more innovative, do more research and know more about consumer demand. How is the landscape changing?

Non-profits can do the same things. We need to understand the challenges facing our groups today, learn more about the people we want to reach, target our messages better, and counter our critics.

Most of all, we need to build and present compelling cases for why people should give to us.

After all, ads and messages that say the equivalent of "Got milk?" ("Got need?") won't cut it any more.