Do you know . . .
A nonprofit or school that is looking for HELP getting better results (money, enrollment, community partners,
more awareness)?
Options for partnering with alinea include:
Coaching and training on strategic relationship cultivation or developing materials like case statements, compelling tour documents, elevator pitches, plan documents, proposal templates, event stratgies, and more . . .
My gift to you:
If your referral becomes a project worth at least $2,500, you get one hour of free coaching (valued at $160) or a
$75 Amazon gift card
Applying the alinea Formula - Real Success Stories
My coaching call with one of my favorite clients - South Shore Schools way up in northern Wisconsin - was so exciting, because the many successes the board chair of the South Shore Education Foundation shared all perfectly reflect the alinea philosophy and approach.
I thought sharing these specific examples of how to apply the alinea formula would help you do the same in your organization, school or church.
alinea-ism #1 - It's NOT About Asking for Money . . . or Asking for Anything
if you've heard me say it once, you've heard me say in a million times, but I can't emphasize enough that the secret to resource development has nothing to do with "asking" people for money. That's where the alinea formula comes in - Story + Direction + Relationships. The reason you don't have to "ask" with my approach is because you understand the three pices of my formula.
- Story is about inspiring people with your vision for what the world looks like because of your organization (school, nonprofit, church, small business, you as a professional). Your tool for articlating your story is the professional case statement.
- Direction is about being very clear about what you need to accomplish in order to get closer to achieving your vision - these are your most important top three (no more) priorities. After you've inspired someone, they CANNOT determine where they fit in if you do not explain what you need to get done in order to achieve your vision.
- Relationships is about being genuinely interested in people without having an agenda - harder than you think. This piece is about connecting with someone on an emotional level and then sharing your vision and priorities and then asking alinea's three magic questions: #1 What do you think? Listen. #2 Where do you see yourself fitting in? Listen. #3 Who else needs to know about what we're doing. Listen.
There's no asking because if you've inspired someone and you're super clear about your priorities and what you need to achieve them, people can figure out for themselves how they fit in. You don't have to corner them.
Today, in my phone call with South Shore Schools Education Foundation, I learned that something magical just happened because of this approach. South Shore Schools has a Wall of Fame, where people nominate an alumnus who they feel has achieved something significant and who they believe has made their community proud. This particular alum wasn't even on the mailing list for the foundation, but somehow ended up receiving something from the foundation that really inspired him. But nothing really came of it. Until . . . this person was formally recognized and inducted onto the Wall of Fame. The Foundation Chair had a casual conversation with this successful alumnus, after which the alumnus shared that he planned to make a significant contribution.
There was no asking. There was sharing of good news, vision and priorities. Then there was this magical alignment of vision on the part of the foundation and alignment with someone who was proud to be an alumnus and saw an opportunity to give back.
alinea-ism #2 - When vision aligns with intention to give back, a gift is received by BOTH the donor and the organization
Contrary to what many people think, the primary motivation for charitable donations is the desire to have a positive impact, not financial considerations like tax benefits. There are so many successful people who have a real understanding that they didn't get where they got alone. They feel blessed and they want to give back. These folks though aren't going to the yellow pages to find worthwhile causes. They are responding to organizations that express interest in them.
So, back to South Shore Education Foundation. The South Shore Schools community is blessed to have a wonderful local philanthropist who has been generous since the start of the foundation. This philanthropist has been specifically interested in equipping students with the technology in order to connect them to anyone anywhere. This person has been instrumental in helping the South Shore Education Foundation achieve it's most importaint priority of putting in the hands of EVERY SINGLE STUDENT K-12th grade a tablet or laptop that when they graduate they take with them. This year, the foundation achieved this priority and this fall will be presenting kindergarten students with their own tablets.
The Foundation has been so focused on cultivating a genuine relationship with this philanthropist, and they were so clear on their next priority, which is to maintain this 1 to 1 technology intiative, that he and his wife were moved to made a significant contribution that will result in keeping the initiative going into the forseeable future.
But here's the magic. Recently, the education foundation chair had lunch with this generous philanthropist and he tried to treat - the donor expressed gratitude to the chair on the part of he and his wife for the OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK TO THEIR ALMA MATER. The donor said THANK YOU!
All along, the South Shore Education Foundation NEVER ASKED FOR ANYTHING. They inspired, shared success stories, were clear about their vision and priority to touch the life of every single student. And then a major donor said "thank you for the opportunity to give back." This is a magical moment.
In both of these examples there was NO ASKING involved, but significant gifts made. But it didn't happen by accident. These gifts happened because of inspiration, clarity of vision and priorites, and genuine relationship cultivation.
Try it out and see what happens! See my other blog postings for how to develop your case statement, provide a compelling tour, be clear about your priorities and have a genuine curiosity about people. Or buy my books - both of my books walk you through exactly how to do this.
Click here to purchase The Secret to Fundraising. Click here to purchase The Secret to Better Schools.
As always, I love to hear how people apply what they learn in my blog and how it leads to a new and better results. Share here or send me an email at info@alineaconnect.com.
Deb
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