Nonprofit CEOs: Has this ever happened to you?

My client was telling me about an unexpected (and unrestricted) legacy gift they received a few years back to the tune of $2 million.

But, every year since, they’ve finished in the red and haven’t been able to accomplish the amazing initiatives outlined in their strategic plan. In fact, this client told me the organization “planned” to finish in the red for the next few years.

Gulp.

Why (and how) did the nonprofit get into this pickle? Well, the board decided that gift should be restricted to program growth.

I have no doubt the heart and root of that decision came from the right place. After all, if you want to see more lives changed, more impact, and more mission… you invest in programs, right?

Not so fast.

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.

Nonprofit CEOs - What’s the last “AH-HA” moment you’ve had?

Mine is a good one. And it happened after starting to follow personal finance coach Ramit Sethi on Instagram. Ramit was talking about how many of us have learned how to SAVE our money, but we didn’t necessarily learn how to SPEND money.

[AH-HA!]

The last person I want to be is the one who saved blindly for decades, penny-pinched at every corner, and just kept my head down in a stockpiling strategy...but never enjoyed it.

You must learn how to spend well, too. Not only to enjoy the fruits of your labor, but know that, “If I take a risk with my money, it won’t be catastrophic.”

I can’t stop thinking about this in the two months since I heard it.

Here’s something I ask all of my clients and potential clients to consider (get ready, it’s a mind flip!):

The revenue trajectory of your organization has way more to do with the leadership's comfort level with investing in spending than some of their revenue-generating ideas.

People come to me all the time saying:

• We’re not growing.

• We need more money.

• We just can’t seem to get ahead.

But, too often they haven’t been truly honest with themselves. They haven’t considered if they’re spending enough money to equip their teams to make more money.

You see, when you want to raise more money for your nonprofit, this is simply self-sabotage. And often, this approach tends to yield mostly restricted revenue—a double whammy.

So, how would you secure more unrestricted revenue, so you can invest in the growth of your organization. Not just from a “What are the needs of this program?” perspective, but also in terms of operational expenses, administrative expenses, and my favorite word . . . OVERHEAD.

Where do we start?

Is your Fundraising Team making decisions for your donors (and leaving money on the table)?

Can you guess where I see the most money left on the table?

Fundraisers making decisions for the donors, preemptively. But, I’m telling you, those donors are dying to give more. To really understand the need of your mission—and contribute to it.

How do I know? I see Advancement Teams’ eyes opened to this all the time. They are shocked to see how much money they’ve been leaving on the table for years.

Instead of predetermining what any one donor might give, and sticking to that, what if you could look at the process with the expectation of:

It takes more to do more…

…especially to solve the giant problems the sector is solving.

In my last blog post, I was talking about the freedom that comes from goal setting.

Because it naturally sets your boundaries. It allows you to align your time very easily within those boundaries.

Boundaries help us know what to ‘say no’ to and what to ‘say yes’ to.

Boundaries tell us what to start doing and what to stop doing.

Boundaries remove the guilt, shame, and all the ‘we ought to do X.’

I don’t need to tell you what that looks like in the nonprofit sector. You know, things like:

“We don’t make any money during Giving Tuesday, but it would look bad if we didn’t do it.”

“The staff spends way more time on the golf event than they should, but our two chairs love doing it even though it raises very little money.”

“Our board wants us to write more grants, but I spend days writing them and am rarely rewarded the funds.”

“I don’t have time to find individual donors or eve do relational fundraising, because there aren’t enough hours in a day. I’m expected to do it all.”

Successful fundraisers align their TIME with DOLLARS.

Are you a natural a goal-setter?

I am.

Some would say that my goal setting, corresponding spreadsheet creation, and cadence of activities to hit said goal are, well, obsessive.

(Some = my husband)

Run a half marathon when I’ve never ran around the block? ✔️check
Hit business stretch goals every year the last three years well before year-end? ✔️check
Complete my family by adopting two pre-teens we’d never met before? ✔️check
Speak 100+ times last year? ✔️check
You get the picture.

An honest moment? I wish I could say I did each one of these with ease, no fear, or anxiety.

That would be a lie.

But, as I’ve invested in myself as a leader, entrepreneur, and business owner over the last decade, I’ve slowly embraced the fear and anxiety present in each one of these situations.

It’s a muscle I continue to flex.

I’ve learned my fear and anxiousness about change that needs to come about to reach goals is a good thing.

What are the Biggest Things Nonprofit Professionals Need to Know About…?

A client once said to me, “I don’t know what I don’t know.” That’s really stuck with me. Keeping that beginner’s learning mindset, asking questions, and remaining curious can really take you far in fundraising.

This is as true for me as anyone else. I’m so happy to be part of a community of fantastic expert consultants, who are always there for me when I have questions.

And I do have questions! Yes, I know a LOT about major gifts fundraising. But there’s always more to learn. Planned giving, DEI, content strategy, online giving...I need to know more. This month, I asked four experts on these topics to share what nonprofit professionals who are just getting started with these topics need to know most.

I learned a lot this month, and I think you will, too. Want to see the entire interviews with all four experts?