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?

Last week, I shared with you some advice Bobbi Rebell shared during a guest interview on The SimplyBe. Podcast. I follow her because she’s a financial guru and runs a super successful business and brand.

I also told you that I’d circle back and tell you my favorite new phrase she used! I had literally told about 30 people this within a week of listening to the podcast. Why? Because it resonated so much with me.

Here’s what happened to me.

My husband and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary in February of 2020. We went to Italy on our honeymoon. And when we were in Italy ten years ago, we made the pact to come back on our tenth anniversary.

Well, a lot has changed in ten years.

Back then we had full freedom to time vacations whenever we pleased. Go anywhere in the world without much planning or looking ahead. Life is full of surprises.

I can’t believe the year is almost halfway over. How did that happen?

One thing I’m trying to be really intentional about this year is taking time for learning - I’d gotten out of the habit of listening and learning from other experts. Luckily, I’m back to regular reading and podcast consumption.

Earlier this month, I found myself in the car for about six hours headed downstate for a funeral. During those hours I binged a podcast that had been recommended to me called, The SimplyBe. Podcast. One of my favorite episodes was a guest interview with Bobbi Rebell, author of “How to Be a Financial Grownup”. Bobbi is a Certified Financial Planner and has so many fancy endorsements and accolades behind her name. She runs a super successful business and brand - I’m inspired by her.

Last April I took a life-changing program taught by Tracy Goodwin. It’s a program about the psychology of the voice. I thought her vocal techniques might help me get rid of my ‘ummmms’ when teaching Webinars. It not only did that, but it changed my entire business and even how I approach solicitation coaching with my clients. For example:

She helped me show up . . . and not some version of me or who I think I should be when speaking. It’s the same for fundraisers. I see so many people showing up to donor meetings thinking they’ve got to be more . . . more professional, more polished, more of what the donor wants.

But only the real you needs to show up.

Tracy taught me how to stay in the moment during the conversation and not let stories of the past, or fears of the future creep in. That’s how you get rid of your ummms . . . but it’s also how you serve, listen, and connect deeply and authentically. This is huge in fundraising.

But you need to quiet your mind.

Nonprofit CEOs - you’re going to be the most successful fundraiser when YOU are YOU.

When nonprofit executives come to me, they are often a bit stuck. Often their organizations are raising the same amount of money every year and their development plans aren’t helping them grow because they’re simply based on the same thing, plus a little more than last year.

My advice?

“Break out of your comfort zone . . .”

“You’ve got to start doing something new to get different results . . .”

“Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable . . . “

As I’ve researched where organizations’ funding tends to plateau, I find that there’s typically one important first step.

I learned a lot in 2020, and I’m sure you did, too.

Not that it wasn’t scary. In addition to public health concerns and economic instability, from the beginning, the news was assuring us, “Most small businesses won’t survive this pandemic!”

Um, hi, that’s me.

I chose to tune out the noise. In early April, 90% of my projects felt like they were on hold, but I knew I had spent every minute of 2018 and 2019 putting infrastructure in place to make 2020 “my year.” So, I just kept showing up. I ended up having my best year yet, serving the largest clients of my career, while they got their greatest results, all over the country.

That’s the title of Chapter 10 from the book I read in late 2020 by Keith Cunningham. Keith would know about this topic. He shares how his business was making scores of millions from real estate deals, but then lost every last penny they had!

Ouch.

He said, “We needed to hear, recover, and rebuild - but do it differently next time. We wanted to be certain that we NEVER had to experience this kind of disaster again. The thinking was not that we could somehow control the economy or interest rates. We couldn’t. But what we could control was the thinking, disciplines, and strategies that allowed us to get caught in the tsunami in the first place.”

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.

This year, I’ve talked a lot about many misconceptions in the nonprofit sector that I dearly hope are left in 2020.

I started a little firestorm on LinkedIn last week when I posted a video about this topic.

The biggest one, perhaps? It's that silly conversation about the financial ratios or percentages in our sector . . . you know . . . that overhead discussion.

Yes, I want you to use your money wisely and transparently.

But when a donor said to my client “I’m not giving to your nonprofit organization this year because you’re spending a combined 25% on Admin/Ops and Fundraising”, I was just as frustrated as my client.

📣 Repeat after me: It’s ok that my Admin/Ops or Fundraising percentages are higher during some years than others.

I have a question.

How ready do you have to be ready for change?

So, my kitchen has been getting ready for construction longer than I'd like to admit.

We moved into a fixer-upper 8 years ago with a solid 70’s kitchen. You know, the ones with pink plastic tile and all brown vintage appliances. It isn't the ‘good vintage’ kind.

We renovated other rooms when we first moved in figuring that we’d do a full kitchen remodel in three years.

Well, it’s been eight. 😲

Don’t think I don’t WANT a new kitchen (read: I don’t have a dishwasher and my oven door flops open). But I want to get it right.

I recently surveyed a group of Development Directors, to get a better handle on what you’re all facing. I found 11 specific challenges, but the good news is that they’re definitely fixable! So fixable that I’ve created a training just for Development Directors to help them learn to tackle these challenges and start raising more money in a more sustainable way.

The three biggest things Development Directors wanted help with were:

• Gaining TIME back in your schedule (so you can actually move from reactive to proactive, strategic fundraising)

• Learning how to find, cultivate, and secure larger gifts from INDIVIDUALS in a way that feels comfortable and not pushy

• Getting more help from your BOARD members! (Like, helping them see you can't just turn the faucet on and off - they must help too!)