Relationship Fundraising - Anatomy of a Success Story

Before I tell you exactly how to write success stories, I want to let you know about a special I'm having on my books right now.  I've got some inventory I want to get rid of.  Right now, you can buy both of my books for $25 (includes shipping).  Mail your check to alinea and include your shipping information to 703  E. Lexington Blvd., Whitefish Bay, WI 53217. 

Now on to my posting about success stories. 

Success Stories - 

A Critical Part of Your Case Statement

Your organizational story articulates the essence of who you are – or your special sauce (that’s a technical term of mine).  The purpose of sharing your story is to inspire people to want to help.  And the gathering place for your amazing story is what I call a professional case statement, described on no more than one sheet of paper using both sides. 

I dedicated a series of posts a couple years ago to helping you develop a professional case statement for your organization.  Today, I’m going to talk about one of the most important sections of your case statement – success stories.  Success stories bring your mission to life and help you make an emotional connection with someone.   

I may have mentioned that I’m transitioning my business from consulting to coaching and teaching.  I have been having fun documenting the process by which I have developed my clients’ success stories, as well as figuring out how best to pass that knowledge along to my coaching clients. 

I am so excited right now to be working with the UW Milwaukee Women’s Resource Center as they celebrate 20 years of empowering thousands of female students PLUS setting course for the future.  Consistent with their collaborative approach, about 10 student staff members will be assisting with developing the Center’s case statement, specifically developing success stories. 

As I guide the UW Milwaukee Women’s Resource Center, I thought I would pass along the coaching I’m providing them to all of you.

But first, click here to check out this amazing resource for students on our beautiful UW Milwaukee campus.   

The Formula for a Successful Success Story

There actually is a formula for developing a success story in a way that will really bring your organization’s story to life =

What was life like before YOU +

What happened during the experience with YOU +

How is the future different because of YOU

Formula Part #1 – 

What was life like before your organization?

People are inspired by transformation or how the world changes because of your mission, not by the activities you do day to day.  Implementing your mission is hard work and critical, but when you are trying to engage community members in your work, bringing to life the impact of your mission is what will get their attention and hopefully their support. 

Think of a person or a family that experienced great transformation because of their experience with your organization or school.  Begin by describing what their life was like before they came to your organization.  What were they struggling with?  What were their challenges?  Here are a couple examples:

From Eastbrook Academy
www.eastbrookacademy.org 

Rakim had attended another Christian school before coming to 
Eastbrook Academy in 5^th grade, but he says,  “We didn’t have quality 
teachers, classes were big, and you couldn’t get the attention 

you needed from teachers.  I was struggling in math.”

         


       From Interfaith Older Adults – Neighborhood Outreach Program
       www.interfaithmilw.org/nop

“After my stepmother had a stroke, my father became her main caretaker. 

This was a lot for him, and I tried to look for services to help him, but it was too expensive. Because I live in a different state, it is not possible for me to be there all the time.  My father was very active, as a golfer, fisherman, and artist, and exercised every day.   He led a very full life but had to give up so much freedom to care for her 24/7.”

From Next Act Theatre
www.nextact.org

  "Back when my wife Ericka and I had our first baby, we craved time as a couple and with other adults.  
We happened to bid on a set of Next Act Theatre tickets 
and turned it into one of our first post-baby date nights."  

Formula Part #2 – 
What happened during the experience with you?

This is where you talk about exactly what you did that helped someone overcome their challenges and totally change their mindset about what’s possible.  What was it about what you did and how you did it that made a difference in this person’s life?  The above examples are continued here:

From Eastbrook Academy:

At Eastbrook Academy, Rakim shares, “The teachers were much better, 
you could ask them anything, they respected students, and expectations were higher.  
I think I got nicer when I came to EBA.”  His GPA increased every year, 
and as he now goes off to college, he proudly asserts, “I feel prepared." 

From Interfaith Older Adults – Neighborhood Outreach Program

"Interfaith was a godsend. Now, once a week a volunteer comes 
to the house and gives my father a day off.  Their volunteer is wonderful.  
She is really amazing.  She is 84 years old, but my Dad was amazed that 
she had gotten up early to exercise, make them banana bread before she arrived. 
She is very generous, has served in the Peace Corp’s, 
and is just a real sweetheart."

From Next Act Theatre:

"We not only loved the show, but by buying a season subscription 
we automatically put four more date nights on the calendar.  
As busy parents, it was not only easy, it was affordable – today, 
it’s just $100 per person for FOUR fabulous productions – that’s just $25 a show.  
It wasn’t long before our friends, who were also starting families, joined us." 

Formula Part #3 – 
What does the future look like now?

Transformation is about a new way of thinking about things that leads to new and better results.  This transformation occurs in the assumptions we make our ourselves, others and the world.  For example, a child’s assumptions about themselves might include not feeling good enough.  Their assumption about the world could be that they are a victim and don’t have control over their circumstances.  An older adult could hold an assumption about other people that they don’t care.  A real success story is about changing these assumptions.  I continue the above examples:

From Eastbrook Academy:

"I knew I would go but I thought it would be community college.  
Then I started getting accepted to top of the line schools, 
and I got a $22,000 scholarship from St. Norbert’s!”  
Starting his own business is a big goal of Rakim's.

       From Interfaith Older Adults – Neighborhood Outreach Program

"Without huge financial resources to have a constant caregiver, 
Interfaith has given my father enough peace of mind to 
go do the things he likes to do.  
He really feel comfortable with Sally coming once a week.  
Interfaith has really been a godsend.”

From Next Act Theatre

"Over the past 15 years, we became a group of 10.  
We take turns choosing a restaurant and we’re NEVER disappointed!  
Our subscription guarantees an entertaining and thought provoking show, 
PLUS time with friends over dinner." 

These are real success stories written by me for my clients.  When you put the three pieces of the formula together, they are very concise but compelling stories that get right to the heart of the difference these organizations make to people.

In my next posting I plan to tell you exactly how to go about asking and interviewing people who have amazing stories to share that bring your mission to life. 

Also, feel free to check out any of the organizations above.  All three are amazing organizations that are in the business of inspiring true transformation.

As always, let me know how you use my coaching to make a difference in your own organization.

Deb 

This is Personal - an Update

Personal Passion Fuels My Work With Schools 

Recently, I went back and looked at my very first blog posting - FIVE years ago.  My company had been working with schools long enough to create a formula for helping them engage community members for the purpose of securing resources (students, money, partnerships, volunteers) needed to achieve their goals.  I had served as a founding board member of a brand new charter school not only getting it off the ground but helping to raise more than a quarter of a million dollars halfway through our first school year.  At the same time, my son, who was in third grade at the time, had already paid a heavy price for being "different" and "difficult."

I've learned so much since that first blog posting, and I could not have anticipated how both my personal and professional lives would intersect and lead me to pursue the path I'm about to jump onto.  I'll tell you more about that in a little bit.

What I've Learned About Schools and Education 

I have been blessed to have the opportunity to work with more than twenty schools and school districts all over Wisconsin in the past few years.  I've worked with private religious schools participating in the parental choice program, charter schools that were completely independent of a school district and charter schools that were instrumentalities of a school district, and entire school districts who were creatively using charter dollars to create programs that would benefit all students in the district.

Through my work over the years with these schools, I've become inspired and dismayed by:

• How real innovation and commitment to serve ALL students is happening, especially in small communities that are faced with real resource shortages and high rates of poverty.  The Montello School District (click here to visit their website) puts education in the context of overall health of the entire community.  Not only that, by simply being willing to reach out to people who home school their children and ask them how Montello Schools could be a resource, they created a program to fill in the gaps for more than 20 home school families.  It wasn't about getting dollars back; it was about genuinely figuring out how to be a resource to these families.  

• The fact that all the research already exists to tell us how children learn best, and that there also already exists models that align with this research.  We know that children learn best when they are engaged and learning is relevant to them.  We also know that children learn best through movement and hands-on opportunities.  Once you see Sir Ken Robinson's 12 minute RSA video on YouTube (he's a global thought leader on creativity), it will become so clear that most schools are still teaching according to a manufacturing model that pumps out graduates that follow the rules.  Click here to see the video.  It will blow your mind.  The bells, the rows of seats, the teacher seen as dumper of knowledge, the intolerance for being different, the response to children's rebelliousness (suspensions and detentions - that research proves doesn't work and actually harms children), are I believe a reflection of the fear by school leaders of letting go of control and being open to seeing their roles differently.   

• It doesn't seem right that schools in wealthy high performing districts take the credit for student performance when they have zero poverty, two-parent college-educated households, disproportionately high incomes and parents who are willing to spend whatever it takes on tutoring and supplemental education programs.  Would these school leaders and teachers be able to get the same performance in a low-income inner city?  I'm guessing not.  I'm so glad that this traditional model works for a majority of students, but I feel the real test of a school is how they deal with the children who are more difficult to teach or who don't fit in.  Unfortunately, my son has been that test, and his schools have failed the test.  

• I've learned that rigor without love and genuine belief in what children can achieve makes the difference.  Eastbrook Academy in Milwaukee is a religious school that has just been ranked #1 in Wisconsin in the High School Challenge Index and #10 in the nation.  Half of their senior class of 16 students this year got accepted into pre-med programs, and each year their high school graduating class of about 16 is awarded $1 million in grants and scholarhsips.  Quick!  Close your eyes and try to picture what the student body of Eastbrook Academy looks like.  I guarantee you're wrong.  One-third of students are low income, 58% are private pay, two-thirds are African American, 25% are white and 10% are Hispanic.    

What's Next for alinea 

So over the years, I've become knowledgeable about how schools are funded, what resources are available to them, research on how children learn best, what the 21st Century economy wants, the education models that already exist that truly engage students, and that many schools are NOT adapting and hurting some students in the process.  With all this knowledge, passion and personal experience, I have not been able to help my own son's schools understand how figuring out how to meet his needs is an opportunity to better serve ALL students in our community.  The teachers may not know exactly how to do this, but genuine desire and openness goes a long way.  

Well, those of you who know me know I'm inspired by having a positive impact on the world by helping people look at things differently and achieve more than they think possible.  I know my son is not alone.  Right now, I'm in the process of hopefully being accepted to Pacifica Gradaute Institute to secure a M.A./PhD in Depth Psychology.  I'm curious about what holds school leaders back from jumping on the chance to be more innovative and effective.  They say that people don't change until the pain of not changing is worse than the pain of changing.  In the case of my son's schools, there is enough demand for the school, and enough students who do well in that model, that there's not much motivation for figuring out a more effective way to work with children who don't fit in (except by putting them in special ed).  The only motivation would be love and genuine caring for children as individual human beings.  

“. . . we need to stop trying to address poor behaviors in the classroom, 

and instead address the root cause of the disruptive behaviors. 

Many active learners may be acting out of boredom or from being lost. 

Recognizing the gift of the active learner and meeting them with actively 

challenging lessons will surely go a long way in creating the optimal learning environment” 

(Clapper, T. C. (2009). 

Moving away from teaching and becoming a facilitator of learning. 

PAILAL, 2(2).

As part of my application process, I had to do a research paper.  I researched how children have been changing, how schools and others have been responding (suspensions, detentions, over diagnosing ADHD), the negative impact of these responses, and the research available on how children learn best and the models that are already available to implement.  I propose that it's fear that holds these schools back - fear of changing the assumptions we make about children and fear of letting go of control and changing the role of the teacher.  I would like to figure out how to help schools embrace the change that will help children feel accepted and blossom no matter who they are.  Can we create an educational environment that celebrates this kind of diversity?  If you're interested in reading my paper, just send me an email at deborah@alineaconnect.com and I'd be happy to hear what you think.  

As always, I love hearing success stories and other feedback.  

Deb

Adopting alinea's Mentality As My Own

I have learned a lot as a leader and educator over the past eighteen years. Staying plugged in professionally has paid dividends for the organizations I help lead. 

But until I was told, “If you do what I ask you to do, you will have all the resources you need,” I was more reactive to the economic demands of my job than visionary. I was the victim of circumstances, not the victor my board and families needed.

I realized I needed to shut-up and listen. Those prophetic words came from Deb Lukovich of alinea and a partnership ensued that provided real learning and resources for Sheboygan County Christian Schools.

We were stuck in a scarcity mentality

Imagine the scarcity mentality that would be fostered in teachers, parents and board members under these circumstances: ten years of declining enrollment, mounting debt, fledgling fundraising, laying off of staff, cutting of programs and a general sense that the school was rapidly approaching the “death line”.  
 
When I accepted this position three years ago, I should have hired Eeyore just to add an optimist to the staff!  I could rally the troops to a point, but then I needed a partner. That is where alinea came in and the rest is, well; a success story. 

Since this partnership was started, enrollment at the high school is up, fundraising has increased by over 400%, and the question morphed from “When do we hit the death line?” to “What is our next big thing?!"

Success, though, was not instantaneous. How do you change a mental model built on scarcity? 

A transformation must occur

The transformation started at the board level. What the leadership models the staff and constituents will embrace. This was a challenging transformation though. This shift from a traditional board model to a community engaged model had board members searching for the ejector button. “I don’t know how to be a fundraiser!” “I don’t know who will take a tour!” 

How did it happen? By just taking a risk. Success began to breed more success. The board member who said these are not my skills was the first board member to attain a new student through a tour. A board member who said, "I don’t do relationships well, I do maintenance," netted $9k for new equipment for our computer lab. 

Once we had our story straight, knew what we wanted and gained success after success,the momentum built.

Our A-ha moment

alinea taught us that knowing your story and engaging the community with passion will yield the results you are after. 

Just recently I followed up with a gentleman that went on the very first tour initiated by a board member.  He was flattered that we cared what he thought. Later he told our president that he is now a supporter of Christian High. He talked incessantly in the community about our school. During the follow up meeting, without being prompted or asked, he handed me a sizable check and said, “Let’s keep in touch.” 

I told the board there were some smart people that told us this is how it works. Guess what? It is how it works!

Creating vision these days in education and non-profits is losing its luster because most organizations don't truly believe that they can shape their future.  We have scarcity mentalities fueled by the tyranny of immediate concerns. 

A helpless mentality plagues many non-profits right now.  Boards and leaders must maintain a "can do" attitude to replace a victim mentality. But “can do" optimism is a thin veneer over a fundamentally reactive view.  

Most organizations think in terms of managing events only. Peter Senge puts it this way,

"The dominance of the event mentality tells people that the name of the game is reacting to change, not generating change.  An event orientation will eventually drive out real vision, leaving only hollow ‘vision statements,’ good ideas that are never taken to heart.”

alinea helped Sheboygan County Christian Schools’ mission penetrate deeply in the community. They provided learning that sparked renewed hope and a vision for a prosperous future.


-Corey Navis
Head of Schools, Sheboygan County Christian High School

  

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Learn more about Sheboygan County Christian High