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From the CEO |
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 Occasionally,
I have the opportunity to teach other nonprofit organizations the
little that I know about fundraising. One of my favorite stories to
use in this endeavor comes from a great book written by Joan
Flanagan called The Grassroots Fundraising Book. Flanagan tells her
readers that if they send a letter asking for money to a randomly
constructed mailing list (the “shotgun” approach), they’ll get a
very small return, maybe less than 1%, and will spend more money on
mailing costs than they will gain. But, Flanagan continues, if they
send a second mailing only to those people who responded to the
first, they’ll experience around a 75% return. The moral of this
story, according to Flanagan, is simple: Raising money from the
believers is easy; it’s identifying the believers that’s hard. Most of you know that we’ve been involved for the past few months in a capital campaign to pay for our new administrative and training space in Springdale. We’ve worked hard to connect with the believers in our community, those families and individuals who are committed to quality supports and inclusive communities for people who have disabilities. What a privilege it’s been! We’ve met lots of new people who share our commitment to equal rights and fair treatment for everyone, regardless of perceived ability, and it’s fair to say that we’ve re-connected with some of our old friends in new and concrete ways. It’s worth all of the hard work that goes into a campaign just to make these connections. It’s enough to restore a person’s faith in humanity. When I talk to my friends in the nonprofit business who know that we’re engaged in this campaign, I get a lot of sympathetic looks and words of comfort and commiseration. It’s almost as if I’m reporting on the loss of a loved one, or the status of a long-term debilitating illness. Their responses tend to go like this: “Hey, I know how hard it is. Just remember, we’ve all been through it, and you’ll get through it too. I’ll be thinking about you.” |
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While I can’t tell you that I’m chomping at the bit to start another campaign as soon as this one’s completed, I haven’t found it to be as egregious as all that. It’s actually been really reassuring , as well as educational, for me. Sometimes I can get all wrapped up in “fighting the good fight” to the point that I feel that I’m fighting it alone. Sometimes (confession time here) I use that to my advantage. I can dredge up a little of the “David vs. Goliath” syndrome and live on adrenaline and righteous indignation for weeks on end. What this campaign has taught me is that, while that may sometimes work, it’s probably not the most effective way to get things done. A little righteous indignation is a good thing and goodness knows there are plenty of things in this business to be indignant about. What I’ve learned from this campaign, however, is that there’s a whole universe of other believers out there who want to be involved, and who can definitely help the cause. They can be just as righteously indignant as I can, and can often be more effective advocates. We can always do more to change the world when we enlist others in the work. I’ve been humbled by the many contributions to this cause so far, and I look forward to making new connections as we move into the final phase of the campaign. It’s a great cause, and we’re ready to share it with the rest of the believers out there. There’s one more little gem that I use in my training sessions with other organizations that seems especially appropriate right now, and that’s the idea of the “lone visionary.” When we have a vision that we’re passionate about, human nature sometimes causes us to hold it very close to us as if no one else could possibly do it justice. People who are the founding mothers and founding fathers of nonprofit organizations sometimes doom those organizations to failure because they can’t let go of their “baby” enough to enlist others in the cause. My little bit of wisdom about that is simply this: If your vision is so narrow that only you can do it justice, perhaps it’s not a vision that can or should be supported. If it’s a vision worthy of support, then it must be shared. Nothing is as powerful as a shared vision, and nothing is as fragile as a vision that only I can see. This capital campaign has reassured me that our vision of an inclusive community, where everyone is accepted and supported, is a powerful, powerful vision. We’ve connected with new supporters and reconnected with “old” supporters. It’s about identifying the believers. It’s about finding those people who share our vision. Thanks to all of you for your support.
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