New Podcast: Pressing Pause on Your Gala — A Case Study with Janelle Miller Moravek at Youth & Family Counseling
I promise I don’t tell every client to press pause on their Gala. I’ve got plenty of clients where the Gala makes sense.
I don’t hate galas. I just want galas to be used strategically….as a STEP in your major donor’s experience with your organization. Not, THE lead experience a donor has with you.
For some clients, I do recommend they press pause. Sometimes they press pause on their own.
That’s exactly what happened when I started working with my client Janelle Miller Moravek at Youth and Family Counseling. She’s on my podcast this month. You can watch it here on YouTube.
By the time we started our work together she was ready for a new strategy, new model, and new plan. She was ready for her and her team to shift that time to relationship building.
The results?
Well, they reached their annual goal with a few weeks to spare at the end of December…WITHOUT the Gala. And earlier this year, FOUR donor conversations yielded MORE than their entire Gala netted last year.
☝️ Read that again☝️
Here’s what happened:
💥They pushed against long-time event lovers - they were exhausted and cash flow wasn’t steady.
💥They knew in their guts there was a better way to raise more money.
💥They reached out to me for a new model, new strategy, and new approach.
💥We removed roadblocks that might keep a donor from giving their best gift.
💥We reframed how they talk about their mission & programs into the donor’s POV.
💥We identified the financial path to their true need for this year & the next 3 yrs.
💥They slowed down and shifted into one-on-one conversations.
💥They learned to how to solicit donors outside of appeals, events, or applications.
💥They asked for what they needed.
And now, they’re on a different revenue trajectory.
They’ve moved into a new rhythm of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual habits that will change their organization long term. This is why I work with orgs for a minimum of 12 months.
You can make this shift too. Be inspired by Janelle and her team in this month’s podcast. Here are a few timestamps…
17:12: From the viewpoint of an experienced fundraiser, Janelle reflects on how she decided the time was right to work with SQT.
19:27: Janelle talks about how she realized she needed to move her organization beyond depending on just the golf outing and the gala for their charitable income.
21:52: Here we discuss the bold act of cutting her organization’s gala out of the budget and how redirecting the resources spent on that event opened up new opportunities to build relationships and spread the message to the community. Simply put, they raised more money this year WITHOUT their gala.
29:15: How the team is gaining confidence in reaching out to donors using the new strategies and communications tools…
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Last thing…
When the organization started having deeper conversations with supporters, admittedly they said, “We don't deeply know our donors. With some, we haven't ever had true conversations with.”
If your staff is having the majority of donor interactions during event or appeal season, you have an opportunity in front of you.
If this episode sounds like you and you're ready for a fundraising paradigm shift too, you can apply to work with me here.
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.
