The Great Nonprofit Reframe (Cost vs. Investment)

DevelopmentNonprofit Growth
Written By Sherry Quam Taylor

Nonprofit CEOs and board members, let me ask you this: Can we do a big (alright, HUGE) reframe in our sector, together?

Here’s what I’m proposing... cost versus investment.

A real-life example: The first time I invested in a coach to help me with a sticky part of my business, I was terrified by the cost. My finger hovered over the send button on my “YES” email for longer than I’d like to admit. 

How’d it work out?

  • My 2nd coach… cost 4X

  • My 3rd… cost another 10X

  • My 4th… you get the picture

Now, I don’t flinch when I see the cost. The value and results each have provided has been beyond transformational.

The Deepest “Cost” Is in a Non-Investment Mindset

Here’s the truth: Hiring someone who can help me grow my business doesn’t cost me anything. Every time, it’s been an INVESTMENT with a high ROI.

This is the reframe we need to make as a sector. Why? Because seeing every outgoing expense as costing you something versus anticipating a return on investment is only keeping you from growing.

A perfect representation of this is desperately needing a brand refresh and choosing not to go with the lowest bid. Spending $50K when your budget was $20K, because you knew it was the right thing to do. I’ve seen this exact scenario be instrumental in tripling the annual revenue of an organization. 

You see, it cost the organization nothing. But the investment resulted in everything.

Honestly, it’s the hardest conversation when I hear, “I’d love to hire you, but it’s not in our budget this year.” I get it. The “cost” isn’t in your budget. But, my clients regularly add seven figures of revenue to the bottom line. 

I know. Easy for me to say. But, if you do the work, you get investment-level results. Take a page from my client’s book.

From Red to Riches

A few years ago, when he became the leader of his nonprofit organization:

  • They’d been in the red for years

  • He felt like his entire team was leaving money on the table

  • There were individuals giving, but none of them were giving their best gift

  • They had a diverse donor pool, but simply didn’t have enough money to invest in growth

And now, 24 months later, he’s running a completely different organization…

  • In the black, raising millions more

  • High-ROI-producing fundraising team

  • Active board members introducing the mission to six-figure investors

  • Serving more people than ever before

What Did It Take?

I showed him how he could reimagine his overall approach to revenue generation, so he could empower his board and staff to start doing the things that yielded greater results. Now, everyone within the organization knows how to align their hours with dollars and confidently lead donors to their best gift.

But, here’s what I really want you to hear. The change he made has way less to do with changing the fundraising activities.

It has way more to do with removing everything in your way that’s BLOCKING revenue generation. These are the things that keep you from having true, investment-level conversations with donors. They are the things that keep you from financing your entire mission.

I’m serious. Traditional fundraising activities are second. The root of the problem must be fixed first.

What would an additional seven figures of revenue mean for your organization? Let’s talk about it!

Whenever you’re ready, here are THREE things you can do next:

👣 Follow me on LinkedIn here where I share the same lessons I teach my clients about attracting larger gen-ops dollars and adding 7-figures + to their bottom line. 

🍎 Read my GUIDE! THE TRUTH ABOUT GIVE/GETS :: Top 5 Reasons Your Board’s Give/Get Is Leaving Thousands (Sometimes Millions) on the Table. See how limiting board members to the Give/Get model restricts gifts and keeps your staff from reaching their full fundraising potential. Here to get it.

📈 Work with me to scale your org's revenue by 2-5X and fund your organization’s Strategic Plan // If you’re a business-minded CEO already raising MILLIONS but need to diversify revenue and secure more general-operating dollars to invest in growth, you can apply to work with me here.

Sherry Quam Taylor

Sherry Quam Taylor works with business-minded Nonprofit CEOs whose Strategic Plans require expansive budgets and larger amounts of general-operating revenue for growth. To become investment-level ready, Sherry helps leaders see their revenue potential and helps them see what may be blocking donors from giving in this way. Sherry’s clients know how to attract larger donors by solving the funding challenges at the root of the issue.

As a result of learning her methodology, Sherry’s clients become sustainable, diversify revenue, and know how to add significant amounts gen-ops revenue to their budgets. But mostly, their development departments and board have transformed into high-ROI revenue generators – aligning their hours with relational dollars and set free from the limitations of transactional fundraising.

Sherry attributes the success of her business to her passion for modeling radical confidence to the future CEOs in her house - her two college-aged daughters.

https://www.QuamTaylor.com
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