Build Your Fundraising Capacity!
Working closely with staff and boards, Janet Levine Consulting will help you increase fundraising capacity and build sustainability. Our philosophy is one of collaboration, where together we develop and implement comprehensive programs that fit the needs and resources of your organization. Call or email today for your FREE 30-minute consultation
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GET GRANTS!
A comprehensive and easy-to-follow guide to writing winning proposals that will teach you to:
--Assess your organizational readiness for grant funding
--Develop programs that are fundable
--Turn those programs in successful grant proposals
--Find appropriate funders |
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Greetings!
When I was a teen, I remember friends telling me not to "sweat the  small stuff." But, as I've aged, I've discovered that it is mainly the small stuff that counts. It's not the big change that is going to transform it all that matters. It's the small things that you actually do that makes the difference.
Like my client who was feeling so overwhelmed with her annual campaign until we talked about her creating a template for the appeals that would be going out a few times a year. Yes, that she could do-and yes, that ws something she could see would change the amount of time she had been spending 4 times a year creating the letter.
Or the people in the workshop who were blown away with the idea that they would "take a coffee break" with a board member each week in person, on the phone, even on Facebook if that was the only way they could connect, to spend 30-45 minutes, talking very specifically about what that Board member could do to help the organization.
And those things didn't have to be big things. They could range from could you sign this thank you letter to can you introduce me to a potential major donor--and everything in between.
So often, we are faced with big things that have to get done and, instead of rolling up our sleeves and getting to work, we get overwhelmed by the magnitude of what we have to do. Forget about that, I say. What's the smallest first step you can take? And then the second...
"Baby steps," my friend Jane when asked about the secret of her professional success. Not, she reminds me that you don't need to be seen as a transformational leader. You do. But it is rare that someone comes in, does one big thing and whoosh! The world is a different place.
Rather, small things are going on; so small that often no one notices. Until, by accretion it is this one big thing that transforms the landscape, makes a difference, makes everyone around you say, wow!
Wow! is how I felt when I took a coaching skills class with Damien Goldvarg at the Center for Nonprofit Management. He was-he is-amazing. And yes, transformational. A Master Coach and President of the International Coach Federation, Damien also has his own business where he teaches and trains coaches and help business executives do their jobs better.
Wow! was also how I felt when I first came across The Young Storytellers Foundation. Executive Director, Bill Thompson and Associate Director Jason Pugatch have both taken classes with me, and-I like to think-learned a lot about fundraising. It certainly looks that way from Jason's article, which first appeared in the Huffington Post.
And finally, I recently wrote a piece on my blog, Too Busy to Fundraise, called "Why Strategic Planning Fails." It was the 2nd most read blog post I've experienced in my six years of blogging. So, I decided that those of you who don't read my blog should have the chance to see why my contrarian view was so popular.
************** Need help in increasing your fundraising capacity or getting your Board to participate? Help is here. Email me or call 310-990-9151. |
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Managing Our Time...And Ourselves!
Damien Goldvarg, PhD and MCC, is the President of the International Coach Federation. Damien's business, Goldvarg Consulting Group offers training, coaching and consulting in both the for profit and non-for-profit sectors.
Many of my clients, during our coaching sessions like to focus on how, to more effectively manage their time. First of all, I would like to clarify that we donīt manage time but we manage ourselves. The challenge is managing ourselves since we all have the same 24 hours. However, some people are more effective than others in organizing to achieve professional and personal goals.
When my clients do not complete their activities or projects, I like to explore the "reasons" or "excuses" that they are giving to themselves. Usually when we start exploring why they are "leaving for tomorrow what they need to do today" there are certain topics that recur in our conversations:
- "I have no desire to do it"
- "I don't want to"
- "I get bored"
- "I am uncomfortable"
- "It is not important"
- "Is not a priority"
- "I don't know how to do it"
- "It's hard work and effort"
- "I am afraid I will make mistakes"
- "I do not want to look ridiculous"
Some of these reasons seem like very good excuses. The first, "I have no desire to" is only a superficial answer, and is generally related to the other explanations. We don't like to do that which bores us, makes us feel uncomfortable, or anything that makes us face the possibility of failure. What are the activities that you don't like to do or that you are always postponing? What are the real reasons?
When we believe that there is something we know that we should do and yet we donīt, we say that it is not important, however, we know that we are lying to ourselves. If it was not important, we would have not been concerned about what we should do.
Is there any chance that you're lying to yourself to avoid doing something that you know you need to do? The fear of failure is often one of the biggest obstacles to taking action. I invite you to evaluate something in your life that you know you have to do and yet you're not doing it. What is stopping you? What are the obstacles you are facing to taking meaningful action? (READ MORE)
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Ten Lessons Veronica Mars Can Teach Nonprofits (And Everyone Else) About Fundraising
Jason Pugatch is the Associate Director of The Young Storytellers Foundation, an organization that develops literacy through the art of storytelling. This article first
And so there will be a 'Veronica Mars' movie, because on Wednesday some 30,000 fans (and counting) pledged $2 million (and counting) via Kickstarter, the popular crowd-funding website, to make it so." -LA Times
By now, even if you'd never heard of the television show on which  it's based, you've heard of the movie.The movie that raised $2 million dollars in just under 11 hours. At last check, that number had reached more than $3.6 million, with 55,000 backers. Yes, Veronica Mars will return to Neptune.
To just put that $3.6 million in perspective for a moment, that much money would fund the Young Storytellers Foundation, where I work, for 10 and a half years. It would give more than 6,500 inner city students lacking proper arts education and literacy resources a writing mentor; would produce just as many live performances of scripts written by these students; and would provide live performance (by professional actors) for about 70,000 audience members.
I'm not complaining. Seriously, I'm not. I'm not going to blame 55,000 people for putting their money into a cause that mattered to them. Instead, I'd like to figure out just what Veronica Mars did so right -- and what we development folks may be doing so wrong -- in fundraising for a meaningful cause. So here 'goes: 10 lessons I've learned from the Veronica Mars Movie Project Kickstarter.
Lesson #1: Know your fan base, no matter how "small." 55,000 people wouldn't keep a network television program on air past the first commercial break. Yet 55,000 passionate people can fund a movie. That's because Rob Thomas (the show's creator) knew before he started this campaign that he had a niche audience he could tap into. He knew that he had a passionate base and asked them to give. (5,000 passionate supporters could fund a small non profit organization with a $150,000 operating budget. Just sayin'.)
Lesson #2: Build a passionate base before you ask. First Veronica Mars built a fan base without asking them for anything. Then they asked them for something. How's your fan base looking? Do they care not just about your organization but your cause?
Lesson #3: Don't be afraid to ask for money. Honestly, do you think that Rob Thomas thought this little project that didn't last more than three seasons on a fifth-ranked network would break a kickstarter campaign record? Of course not. In fact, if he's anything like most creators, he was probably insecure and afraid of this whole campaign failing miserably. But you know what, he tried. So should you. If you don't ask for the money, it isn't coming.
Lesson #4: No donation is too small to solicit. At least half the donor pool for the Veronica Mars campaign gave under $35. 'Nuf said.(READ MORE)
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Why Strategic Planning Fails
I've long been ambivalent about the value of the strategic planning process for most organizations. It's not that I don't think it is worthwhile to take a longer view, consider what you would like to accomplish-it's that most strategic plans tend to ignore the more important issues of how you are going to get there and what it takes to reach your goal.
I recently reviewed the strategic plan of a start up organization. The first goal, not unrealistically, was to increase their financial support. What was completely ridiculous (and I use that word carefully) was the objectives they set and activities they defined on how to get there. Basically, objective one is to obtain enough money to start their programs, and then to develop sustainable revenue streams, increasing and diversifying mechanisms for individuals and other organizations to donate. The ways they "strategically plan" to get there include:
- Create a strong fundraising board
- Use all avenues-which they defined as mass marketing efforts such as social media, events, direct mail-to raise fundraising capacity
- Explore brand collaborations, much in the way many celebrity nonprofits do.
The rest of their goals had to do with their programs. No where did they look at their ability to accomplish any of this-even if "this" was a good plan to begin with.
As I read this plan, so reminiscent of most of the strategic plans I review, I thought how much this would be like me-a sole proprietor with no staff -decided to posit a goal to increase my consulting business to have gross revenues of $1 Million. And my objective would be to "increase my client load." The activities would be "to get more clients through marketing, word of mouth, and repeat business."
A slight reality check, however, would point out that for me to grow to $1 Million, I would have to have a minimum of 5,000 billable hours each year. If I were to work a 40-hour week, I would have to have 125 weeks each year just to maintain billing. We won't even think about the back office hours and the marketing hours it takes to sustain this kind of billing.
This makes no sense. What I first need to do is to consider my capacity-what can I, given my current resources, accomplish today? If I want to increase that, where do I need to increase my capacity? What things will I need to add to what I have? And, critically, what would be the price tag of increasing what I am currently doing?
As I thought about this, I became very clear why most strategic plans end up in a notebook on someone's shelf. They fail because they are not anchored in reality; they are a picture of what would be lovely to do, not what you-realistically-will be doing any time soon. It's like pining for the greener grass on a far shore, without a bridge or a road to get you there. (READ MORE)
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- Are your fundraising results down?
 - Board members bored?
- Or are thinking about a campaign?
Whatever your capacity building needs, Janet Levine Consulting can help.
Send me an email or give me a call at 310-990-9151 to schedule a free 30-minute consultation.
I look forward to meeting with you.
Sincerely, 
Janet
Janet Levine
Janet Levine Consulting
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