Nonprofit Leaders: What do you need to decide today?
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.
The entire podcast I was wishing I wasn’t driving because I wanted to be taking notes! There were lots of nuggets I was processing for myself, but also those I wanted to share with you!
Here’s the first one. And it’s so simple that it’s powerful.
(And I see too many fundraisers struggle with this).
Bobbi was talking about how too many people think they aren’t good at numbers and money. And what happens when you have this mental block? You avoid it.
The first step in changing this?
YOU DECIDE.
First, you decide you’re going to conquer this. Then start accessing the thousands of resources at your own speed. Trust you can learn it well enough that it isn’t a source of fear anymore.
Trust that you can do it . . . and then do it.
Now, here’s why it resonated so much with me.
There are two ways I see this play out with my clients in my business:
First, I work with lots of high-performing Nonprofit CEOs who have left their corporate careers to lead a nonprofit. They’re experienced at running and scaling businesses - they aren’t afraid of the money and finances conversation. Investment-level conversations about growth plans, funding models, and financing plans are second nature. But, their development staff haven't ever been equipped with the tools, training, and knowledge to do this. They’re great at writing grants, planning events, and digital appeals. But when it comes to sitting down one-on-one with an individual and leading them through the donor experience journey and financial conversation to secure a $200,000 gift? Well, that’s a different story.
Second, I work with lots of Nonprofit CEOs who are subject-matter experts who’ve grown into their positions because of their extensive program knowledge and success. This might be the best thing about my job - learning from THE BEST mission experts solving global problems. The challenge is that when you’ve grown into leadership up through the program side of the organization, often you’ve never had to know how to create true financing plans that empower your development team to reach and exceed your true need every year. Often the result of this is an organization too dependent on one source of funding - like government contracts or foundation grants.
There’s no need to stress or point fingers here. Most people whose job it is to fundraise have never needed to know how to secure major gifts from individuals before. They’ve simply never needed to know how to sit down and have investment-level conversations with donors who can make investment decisions.
Too many fundraisers say to me “I hope we don’t get into the numbers conversation” or “I hope they don’t ask about the percentages.”
If you’ve said that to yourself before, here’s why it doesn’t add up. . .
You’ve got to speak the language of your major donors. And for MOST of them, that’s that CEO dialect.
I’m not saying the crisis statistics, the story of changed lives, or the programmatic impact is not important. Do that too. BUT MAJOR DONORS NEED MORE. They’re dying for you to sit down and tell them how you’re going to use their funds well. They’re dying to understand your financial need.
My clients who know their numbers, equip their teams to know how to lead financial conversations, and lean into the investment-level questions that most avoid?
They raise more unrestricted money from individuals. They use that money to invest back into the programs AND overhead they need to scale their mission.
Full stop.
So, what do you need to decide today?
Successful fundraisers KNOW the organization’s finances like the back of their hand. Why is this important? Well, if you don’t know the true financial need of the organization, how will you ever create a financing plan to reach that number? And more importantly, how will you articulate what a donor’s gift could achieve?
Successful fundraisers ATTRACT major donors because they welcome the tough financial questions that are often asked in an investment-level conversation. Most folks want to know how to find major donors. That approach rarely works. Your first step is to start having different conversations with everyone you know so that you can start attracting donors who see you as a solid investment. And remember, the questions you’re dreading are good. Learn the answers.
Your job is to decide to act. Decide 2021 is your year for change. Decide 2021 is when you’re moving out of traditional, transactional fundraising activities that never fully fund your organization and leave you with little money to invest overhead.
Invest in yourself and your team. STOP doing the things that might be keeping you from securing larger investment-level gifts and START doing the things that attract stakeholders.
I’m cheering you on!
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! 🎯
