December 2, 2008 | Nick Fellers
Teleseminar: Overcoming Top 10 Campaign Challenges
For those that are registered for today’s seminar on 10 Campaign Issues. You can download call notes here. The archived audio will be available here for three days following the live seminar.
In this seminar we cover 10 common questions and challenges regarding campaigns.
1. “How do we simplify our case for support?”
2. “How do we find and train our sales team?”
3. “How do we move from planning to dollars in the bank?”
4. “How do we identify and prioritize prospects?”
5. “How do we get visits?”
6. “How do we overcome call reluctance?”
7. “How do we close?”
8. “How do we measure and manage our campaign?”
9. “How do we actively engage our board and volunteer leaders?”
10. “How do we use our president and senior staff?”
December 2, 2008 | Nick Fellers
Don’t un-start your Campaign because of a Recession
I’m on a west coast this trip, meeting with and working with several organizations. This morning, I’m having coffee with the leadership from an organization that has been prepping for a $75M campaign for three years. The org was ready to ‘launch’ and then decided to hold citing ‘the economy’. They were worried it might be ‘insensitive’ to announce a campaign.
To our friends at this organization (they know who they are): Don’t let ‘a recession’ determine your timeline for saving lives, changing lives and impacting lives…
- A campaign is a time to build and maximize relationships. This begs the question, when would you NOT want to be building and maximizing relationships? We should be funding the vision – always. Note: Get more on Funding The Vision with Tom’s Campaign book.
- You need to be out selling. If I were to put that in a softer way that might be more widely received I would say you need to be out telling the story… or even just making visits.
- 16 months. This is how long it’s taken me to schedule a visit with my best project on one particular project. 16 months of persistence, gate keepers, put-off’s, delays. We persisted because the prospect was our top prospect (we knew/believed this). When we FINALLY got the visit the prospect thanked us for our tenacity… it turned into a $2.1M commitment. If you wait until we’re out of a recession to start ‘working the list’ what happens?
- 4 months. This is about how long it takes from the time you ASK to the time a six-figure gift is closed. Note: This is of course a little arbitrary and a complete generalization. I took a composite of my own experiences plus stories from funding boot camp alums – representing orgs of every shape and size. My point is, if you need the money in April you can’t start visiting in March.
- Fine. Don’t call it a campaign. If you’re that worried about perception just don’t call it a campaign.
- December 6, 1994. This was the day Orange County declared bankruptcy. It was also the same day The Suddes Group started a successful economic development campaign in that same county. I share this and could share dozens of other stories about being out in every economic climate. I’m not just typing a bunch of empty thoughts. We’ve been out there. We are out there – now. I’m damned straight playing the credibility card on this one… now more than ever you need to be out making visits. We’ve put together an entire seminar/publication around these stories.
- If you’re worried, be authentic. Let me assure you. No one is going to throw you out of his or her office or home because you’re there on behalf of a worthy cause during “a recession”. And, I PROMISE no one is going to ask, “How dare you come to me right now?” But, if it helps, work up your response and your security blanket. “We can’t stop telling our story because of the market and quite frankly, it’s not the market that’s driving us. It’s [CANCER] [HOMELESSNESS] [EDUCATION] [HOPE] [BEAUTY (arts)].”
- Finally, remember this is about RELATIONSHIPS, not transactions. The RELATIONSHIP to your CAUSE has nothing to do with the economy.
December 1, 2008 | Tom Suddes
If you are a SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR, For Impact Leader or aspiring ‘wannabe’, you need to get Seth Godin’s new book TRIBES… TODAY!
This guy is a brilliant thinker and a powerful writer. Simple. Clear. Direct.
TRIBES is all about CHANGING THE WORLD… MOVEMENTS… and LEVERAGE.
I will write a better review/summary shortly, but you need to get the book NOW.
November 26, 2008 | Tom Suddes
It’s that time of year to give THANKS, and Nick and I appreciate our ongoing opportunity to share a Thanksgiving Message with you.
3 Things to Think about this Thanksgiving:
- “WEALTH IS AN ABUNDANCE OF THINGS THAT WE VALUE.”
My favorite (and the best) definition of Wealth. Everything that we (should) truly value doesn’t really “cost” anything. Or, as the VISA commercial would say, “It’s PRICELESS.” Our families, our health, our friends, our lives, our country, our stakeholders and investors, our wonderful staff who deliver our services. And that’s just the ‘people’ value. A good book. A great cup of coffee. Nature. The sun. The ocean. The mountains. All things we can enjoy and value.
Let this Thanksgiving be a cornucopia full of things that you VALUE.
- “ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE.”
Yes, it’s the worst ‘economy’ in a long time. The media is relentless in its coverage of all the ‘bad’ things that are going on. Yet, as you look around the world, each of us has an awful lot to be grateful for. Every book I’ve ever read on success, happiness, personal development talks about the importance of this “ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE”. The older I get, the more important it is to wake up every day “giving thanks” (not just this Thursday).
- “MAKE A LIFE, NOT A LIVING.”
Maybe this is just a reminder to myself and a few people very close to me that are going through some tough financial times.
It’s not about how much money you make…
It’s how much you DO with your LIFE.Two of my daughters, Shannon and Kerry, enjoy country music. I happened to hear this lyric when I got into Shannon’s car.
“It’s not what you take with you… when you leave the world behind you.
It’s what you leave behind you… when you leave this world behind you.”Although I’ve watched thousands of people experience this “giving thing”, I still don’t know how it works. I just know that
THE MORE YOU GIVE, THE MORE YOU GET.
Even though we are all “struggling” a little bit in these slumping financial times… there are millions of lives impacted more dramatically than ours. Although it might feel almost ‘counter-intuitive’, NOW is a great time to SHARE with others. Take your children and grandchildren as you GIVE your time or material goods or money to feed, clothe or shelter the homeless, to help the elderly, to make a difference in a child or family’s life.
I’ve attached a couple of things you might want to share with your kids or grandkids. One is HAPPY PRINCE. Another is to look at the SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD through the eyes of a child.
And, for each of you, I’ve attached a very powerful ‘GIVE TO LIVE’ story around the SEA OF GALILEE.
From all of us at For Impact and The Suddes Group, we wish you a very, very HAPPY THANKSGIVING. We are grateful and appreciative of what you do every day to CHANGE THE WORLD and MAKE AN IMPACT.
November 26, 2008 | Nick Fellers
Trends v. Fundamentals in Nonprofit Funding
We’re asked to talk about ‘trends in philanthropy’ or ‘trends in fundraising’ which troubles me because the social sector needs more discussion about fundamentals – not trends. If you ask me to talk about ‘trends’ I will use this as a lens to highlight the lack of fundamentals – think of it as me spinning the conversation – it’s all good.
Every business in and sector lives and breaths by fundamentals, first.
- A clear vision/direction (illustrated a clear MESSAGE).
- A clear revenue MODEL.
- A clear PLAN including an understanding of the MATH (impact math and income math) to get there (e.g. goals, levels, etc.)
As I’m writing this to compare and contrast trends and fundamentals I realize most of the trends (that get discussed) are really fads because too often they’re ‘the next big thing’ and don’t have staying power. These could include:
- Earned Income (Social Enterprise)
- Lance Armstrong’s bracelets
- 5K races
- Social Networking Funding (The Obama effect)
Maybe if they were backed on a case-by-case basis with fundamentals they would be true trends and not fads.
Example - Earned Income: I went to a Social Enterprise Alliance gathering four years ago. What I witnessed were some orgs starting earned income ventures without attention to fundamentals, no clear plan and no willingness to do the math to see that they were losing $50 on every widget they produced. On top of that, one speaker cautioned, “It’s hard enough to start a business with people that have their lives together let alone those that don’t.” Four years later 16 out of 17 orgs I interviewed abandoned the earned income stream – each for the lack the fundamentals outlined above.
The reason most small businesses fail is because they don’t have a grasp on fundamentals. Nonprofits often don’t ‘fail’ in the same sense that for-profit businesses do [running out of money]. Instead, they limp along for years longer, subsidized by passion, volunteerism and employees on the fast-track to burnout (human capital model)… this unique resource model is often a masking agent for a lack of fundamentals.
If you’re a board member, a senior staff person or development officer you can do a great service to your organization, your team and your cause by leading a discussion on the fundamentals… by leading a discussion to clarify the direction or purpose of the organization, by clarifying the model and by working through the math. This discussion is simple, not easy.
November 25, 2008 | Nick Fellers
2009 Funding Boot Camp Schedule Now Available
Join us in San Diego, New York or Ohio (at our Headquarters). In two days we teach you how to apply For Impact ideas giving you the time, clarity and confidence to transform your organization!
The For Impact Funding Boot Camp (Info, Registration & Testimonials) has become our way to share frameworks and practices with you that we’ve used to generate more than $1B for nonprofit causes. It is the capstone of our training efforts and weekly emails.
What you will learn:
- How to incorporate the For Impact message.
- How to identify major gift prospects and get visits.
- How to effectively use your entire team including ways to engage and leverage the board.
- How to make a $1M major gift ask.
- How to address objections and questions.
- How to save (and create) time in implementing important funding priorities.
Organizations in attendance will leave with:
- An actionable funding plan to transform funding results in the next 100 days.
- An effective and engaging presentation tool (v1.0).
- Confidence and clarity around what needs to be done to get results.
Dates/Locations:
- *Dec 9 2008 - Colorado Springs (special one-day bootcamp)
- January 15-16 - San Diego, CA
- February 23-24 - New York, NY
- April 22-23 - Columbus, OH
- June 24-25 - Columbus, OH
- September 23-24 - Columbus, OH
- October 21-22 - Columbus, OH
- MORE INFO AND ONLINE REGISTRATION
We hope you can join us. If you have questions or would like to talk more about the program you can can reach us by email (reply) or by calling the number below.
PS - We’re also doing an introductory teleseminar today(Tues) at 1:00 ET on the For Impact message. Teleseminars are free and you can register here.
November 25, 2008 | Nick Fellers
See How Your Message Might Be Heard
Marc Pitman/fundraisingcoach.com directed us to Wordle.net in a pretty cool post about message. The power of a simple and visual message cannot be overstated. Using Wordle, you can upload text, a webpage or letter and it creates a visual word cloud on-the-fly.
Uploading all the posts at forimpact.org produces this visual
This is similar New York Times did on election day. [Excerpt from previous post] It reflects a methodology you can follow to build your message (sans technology). Ask everyone to pick 1-3 words that describe your impact. Aggregate and simplify to identify THE BIG WORDS.
This tells me we talk a lot about THINKING, IMPACT and CHANGE… I’m okay with that!
Following Marc’s message, you could also upload a letter, your site or other communication to see how your message might be heard.
Thanks, Marc.
November 25, 2008 | Tom Suddes
Be Like Harley Davidson, Embolden Your Message In These Times
THE OTHER SIDE OF FEAR IS COURAGE.
The other end of Wall Street connects with millions of better roads, all leading from the stink of greed and billion dollar bankruptcies. If it was all just a casino, where were the complimentary cocktails? Metal is our currency. Its value is on the rise, even as wealth on paper spontaneously combusts. So we’ll still lend to those putting in long days. The American ideal of work and reward does not diminish with the stock market.
SCREW IT.
LET’S RIDE.
*This was a full page ad from Harley-Davidson. You can view an interactive version online at Harley-Davidson’s Website. Their normal ‘MESSAGE’, which is on the side of my bike and many people have as a tattoo, is:
LIVE TO RIDE.
RIDE TO LIVE.
This new ‘MESSAGE’ is a direct response to what’s going on in the world today but still incorporates the idea of ‘RIDE’.
What is your MESSAGE in these times???
*If you’re struggling, try this with your INVESTORS:
‘LIVE TO GIVE. GIVE TO LIVE.’
November 24, 2008 | Nick Fellers
Dow Drops… Not Everyone Sings the Blues… Time to Give
On October 3 we weighed in on the economy. This was during the height of the talks about “the first bailout”. We were receiving dozens of calls and emails every day about how to respond to the economy. Message, archived audio and printed packages available here.
Message synopsis: Get out and visit with your best people, now more than ever. Don’t make decisions for your prospects and focus on the fundamentals (top of the list, message and the ask)… be a social entrepreneur… don’t hunker down in your bunker.
I’ve picked three great stories that were posted in comments and emails.
- “It’s time to give”: From Rocky at Mission Generation
“The man I was speaking with told me I came at the worst possible time. He had lost 200 million over the last three days. He was ready to end the meeting with that sentence when I quote the scripture below.
And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: (Gen 26:1,12-13)
“I said, ‘it’s time to give.’”
“The time spent at the Impact boot camp gave me tremendous confidence. We ended up talking for three hours; he cut a check on the spot and committed to helping monthly.”
- Don’t Make Decisions for Your Prospects: This comes form Peter Schrappen at the Washington Health Foundation. The foundation’s largest previous gift was $40K.
“We asked for and received a $400,000 commitment yesterday (yes, yesterday 10/9) while the Dow dropped 400 points).
- Be out in field and good things will happen: And finally, this email comes from Armen at the Charlotte Diocese.
“We’ve been out in the field making visits with your encouragement. I just wanted to report that not every person is crying the blues. We’ve made many visits in the past few weeks and we’ve picked up 9 new Bishop’s Circle members [$1,000+] and a new major gift.
These notes are all from recent funding boot camp alums. That being said, success comes not from their status as alums but because they’re out in the field, visiting with real people and having real conversations about these prospects can save lives, change lives and impact lives.
As the media continues to pummel us with story lines about the economy just remember today’s combined message from Rocky, Peter and Armen: EVEN THOUGH THE DOWN DROPS, NOT EVERYONE SINGS THE BLUES. IT’S TIME TO GIVE!
November 21, 2008 | Tom Suddes
My friend Tim Kight calls this the ‘R FACTOR’.
Everything is about your RESPONSE to the event, the situation or the activity… not the event itself.
Tons of books on this. Thought it needed to get out in Kight’s wonderfully simple equation.
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