Remember when everybody said, “most nonprofits can’t survive this pandemic”?
For me, 2020 was a mental game of tuning out the noise so I could balance a world of opposites for my business and my clients. You know, generalizations like...
⚠️ The news said, “most small-businesses won’t survive this pandemic!”
I chose to tune out the noise in early April 90% of my projects felt like all my clients went ‘on hold’. I knew I had spent every minute of 2018 and 2019 putting infrastructure in place so that 2020 could “be my year”. So, I just kept showing up despite the pandemic, it happened. And it happened by a landslide resulting in my best year yet - serving the largest clients of my career, while they got the greatest results, all over the country.
⚠️ And then everybody said, “most nonprofits can’t survive this pandemic!”
But the reality is, you killed it. I’ve never had my clients secure more money in their lives. The number of organizations I was working with that were fully funded well before their fiscal year ended was astounding. I’ve never had more celebratory emails and texts about 6-figure gifts in my life. And I’d never seen so many clients secure unrestricted, capacity-building funding in my life.
But most of all, not only have you survived, but YOU SHOWED UP. You stood in the gaps where we needed you most. You served more people, shifted programs where you needed to, added programs to care for so many. Thank you for this.
Now, I understand 2020 wasn’t a cake-walk and it wasn’t “a year of bests” for everyone. That’s why I’m sending this email today.
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I read an AWESOME book in 2020 called The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. I bought it for my own business, but there were SO many golden nuggets in there that I decided I must share some of them with you as we start 2021 together.
It’s all about avoiding mistakes that sabotage growth, revenue, and business success. One of the author’s big ideas is really rooted in these BIG GENERALIZATIONS that I’ve noted here, and how they kill clarity.
Now, in the nonprofit sector, we’re used to big generalizations that have killed us for years. You know . . .
...We’ll always struggle financially because we’re a nonprofit.
...Donors never want to pay for overhead.
...Our organization won’t receive funding if we have too much money in our reserve.
As we move into 2021, my commitment is to be a voice in the sector that dispels these myths and generalizations.
Because they aren’t true.
There’s a simple, straightforward path to being fully funded. But, it feels counterintuitive. And that’s often misinterpreted as being risky.
But it’s not risky.
So, what’s your part in this?
Your job is to choose to believe it this year, push beyond scarcity, and act upon it. Decide 2021 is your year for change. Decide 2021 is when you’re moving out of traditional fundraising strategies and activities that never fully fund your organization and leave you with little overhead. Decide this is the year you’re moving from someday to right now.
Don’t waste what 2020 taught us. Last year reminded us that we NEED (and love!) overhead, solid reserves, cash balances, and paying our staff well. It also reminded us that this wild idea that nonprofits should be able to DO MORE, ON LESS, is bonkers.
That doesn’t work. What does work?
Cunningham says “The primary reason most goals are never achieved and most budgets are never attained is because they are hollow, generalized statements of hope and not rigorous nonnegotiable standards, plans, and measurable drivers.”
Ouch.
But, he’s right.
I see this so often. I talk to high-performing Nonprofit CEOs who are killing it when it comes to programs and organizational management but struggle to even make payroll because of their approach to their annual expense and funding model.
When someone asks you about your budget for the upcoming year and your sentence starts with “We hope to get to $ . . . “ or the answer is rooted in some form of “a bit more than last year”. . . then you have some work to do.
Do one thing for me in 2021, don’t settle.
Instead, create a true plan to fully fund your big vision, including the overhead it’s going to take to get you there.
To your success in 2021,
Sherry
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P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you grow your nonprofit revenue:
1. Follow me on LinkedIn for content and resources first
I give away trade secrets and insider info every week - the same lessons I teach my clients about what they can do to start attracting larger dollars and generate more unrestricted money for your nonprofit.
2. Read my WHITEPAPER to see if your overall approach to financing your mission every year might be keeping you from growing.
Here you’ll learn THE BIG FUNDRAISING SECRET that keeps organizations from having the funds to achieve what’s in their strategic plans. Click here to get it.
3. Work with me to reimagine your overall approach to revenue generation
If you'd like to add 7+ figures of charitable revenue to your nonprofit, just send me an email at Sherry@QuamTaylor.com with the subject line “grow.” Tell me a little about your nonprofit and what you need to raise this year. I’ll get you the details! 🎯
