Key to Better Results - Change the Way You Think and What You Do

You may have heard that I'm taking everything I usually do for my clients in a 12-month consulting project and I'm giving it all to 75 people who register to come to my weekend-long seminar on
March 21-23 in Milwaukee, WI.  They'll get inspiration, training and a binder full of instruction, samples and templates.

Leading up to my seminar, I'll be giving you glimpses of what this amazing experience will be like.  Today, I write about the key to getting better results - the need to change how you think and what you do.  I'll be talking about this at the seminar FIRST!

Enjoy this post, and to learn more about my seminar:

• Click here to visit my website for details 
• Click here to listen to me talk about the seminar or view client testimonials

Why Some Organizations and People Get Better Results

Over the past 10 years, I've worked with more than 50 schools and nonprofits, and I've paid attention to which cliens get the most out of working with me.

My clients tend to fall into two camps:

• Schools and school districts that are already doing innovative things and they are looking for more money, students or community partners.

• Nonprofits that are looking to grow and diversify their sources of revenue, want their board members to be more engaged, need more volunteers and want to build awareness.  

Before I agree to work with them, they must tell me they are open to thinking about and doing things in a new way.  My experience and intuition is usually right, but when it's not and it's not working with a client, it's always because of a resistance to thinking or doing things differently.

While many organizations say they want change, when the time comes for them to change, they can't make themselves do it and then they're disappointed in the results they get.  They say that unless the pain of NOT CHANGING is greater than the pain of changing, people just won't do it.

Before you immediately deny that this happens in your own organization or in your own life, sit back and think about the personal or organizational goals that you haven't been able to achieve yet.  I guarantee that the reason you haven't achieved them yet is because you haven't made the change in thinking and doing in order to get different and better results.

The Secret to More Money, Students, Volunteers, Engaged Board Members and Community Partners - CHANGE

I've discovered that there are two things that must always happen in order for my clients to experience great results.  There are TWO CHANGES that must happen:

FIRST, they must change the way they think about things.
SECOND, they must change what they do.

Schools, for example, used to be able to count on getting enough resources from a reliable government source and having students simply show up as kindergarteners and stay through high school.

That completely changed over the past decade or so.  For years, schools have been asked to do more with less, PLUS transform the way education is delivered so when students graduate they're prepared to enter the 21st Century workforce.

Well schools and communities have responded in different ways to this stress.  One way schools have responded is to become taken over by a "scarcity mentality," meaning there is constant stress over a lack of resources.  Working in a scarcity environment where there is a constant feeling of lack causes people to turn on each other.  I've seen this myself.  The teachers and staff members of these schools don't realize that their own beliefs about lack are being passed along to an entire generation of young people.  I find that people in this camp exert great effort trying to fight the system instead of adapting to the change.  There's a feeling that everyone is competing for a fixed amount of resources.  They become frustrated, which does the opposite of producing more resources.

On the other hand, some schools and communities have changed the way they think about school funding.  Many of my school clients have creatively used charter dollars to pilot and implement new 21st Century learning models.  There are school districts in Wisconsin that have started multiple charter programs in their district.  Other schools have launched or improved education foundations.  Some have focused on getting technology into the hands of every one of their students.  Other foundations have focused on scholarships for students to go to two- or four-year colleges.  The teachers, parents and community members in these school districts decide that it's up to them to adapt.  With my eternal optimism and cheerleading, they begin to believe that there is no limit to the amount of resources and people who want to help them.  That belief is contagious, and soon they are pleasantly surprised when people step up to help.

So, changing the way you think MUST HAPPEN before you can get better or different results.

Next, getting organizations to change what they do is not an easy task.  Lots of research has been done on whether sending people to workshops and seminars results in any measurable change.  IT DOESN'T unless there is followup, encouragement and support back at the organization.

Small nonprofits, for example, are already overwhelmed.  When I begin working with them, I tell them that I know our starting point is THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO WHAT I WANT THEM TO DO.  They breathe a sigh of relief when they hear me say that, but then I tell them we still have to find a way to change what they're doing.

When my client isn't doing what I ask them to do, though, it doesn't mean they don't want to.  It usually means they don't know how or they are afraid to do it.  I remind them that our minds and our bodies try to protect us from change, and that the feeling of discomfort is normal.  HOW WE RESPOND TO THAT FEELING is key though.  Instead of losing faith in me, I ask them to say to themselves, "I

know this is uncomfortable because I'm learning something new.  I MUST DO IT ANYWAY."

Then I go on to do whatever training they need, create whatever tools they need and then provide the gentle nudging required for them to follow through.  Celebrating whatever the outcome is is critical in their building the confidence to do it again and again so that it becomes a habit.

People who can resist the temptation to get mad at me when they are uncomfortable, and instead face their fear and try something new ALWAYS ARE HAPPY WITH THE OUTCOME.

It's Not About Knowledge, Information, Marketing or Strategies - IT'S ABOUT YOU!

For organizations looking for better results, it's often about the need to change how they are thinking and what they are doing.  It's not about creating a fancy video or brochure, although that's often what they'll do.  It's not about a scheme or a fundraising strategy.  It's about what you're walking around saying and whether you're inspiring people with your vision for the future.

These are the things that I focus on when I work with clients.  Not my specialized knowledge, because that won't help unless I first get people to change the way they think first.

As always, please share what you think, what you did and what happened when you tried something new.  You give others confidence to try it too. 

In Eternal Optimism,

Deb

The Twelve Days of Gratitude: Day 2

Are you on a first name basis with your printer?

Have you ever thought to thank your printer? Do you know your printer or do they know you?

Next time you take a printing job to your regular neighborhood printer, ask if the manager is available, introduce yourself, and tell them what a great job they are doing.   Just think, have they ever gotten documents printed for you at the last minute, under deadline?  

It's important to recognize the people that are often overlooked but make an impact on your school or organization.  Take some time to tell them about some of the wonderful things happening at your school or organization and invite them to come take a tour.

And you’d be surprised what could come of this, by just letting someone know they are appreciated.  We’ve had clients who have just simply introduced themselves, said thank you, and the printer felt so appreciated that he donated the next printing job to the school for free.   

Do you have a go-to printer that you know by name? Have you taken the time to introduce yourself to him/her?

Next time you drop off a project, take some time to introduce yourself, and let us know how it goes.

The SOS Center - Finding the Sustainability to Continue to Touch Lives

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Today I am sharing with you the story of one of my clients, the SOS Center, a non-profit that has worked in the community of Milwaukee for 30 years.  

The SOS Center of Milwaukee 

For nearly 30 years, SOS Center has been empowering children and adults to overcome poverty through their education programs. 

Thirty percent of households in the surrounding area earn less than $15,000 a year.  Neighborhood students are part of the MPS school district, where overall proficiency/advanced rates reach only 62% in reading at the 8^th grade level and only 50% in Math in 8^th grade.

Through its GED Preparation Classes, After School Homework Program, Adult Basic Education, Youth Summer Camp, English as a Second Language and Sewing Classes, the SOS Center touches the lives of each child and adult they connect with and support. 

Just ask Darlene, who dropped out of school in the 10^th grade and by the age of 16 was pregnant and married. After raising two children as well as grandchildren and working as a housekeeper for over 20 years, she signed up for free GED classes at the SOS Center at the age of 52.  Though she felt at times she felt like giving up, she completed her GED, and scored a rare perfect 800 on her Reading Test, where only a score of 410 was required to pass.

But as with any non-profit organization, the key to continuing to touch the lives of people like Darlene is financial sustainability.  With this understanding, Jodi Kessel Lyon, the Executive Director of the SOS Center, signed up for Deb Lukovich’s alinea seminar, “Learn the Secret to Sustainability.” After attending, Jodi learned that the key to financial sustainability was relationship fundraising and that her board members needed to adopt this new mindset. She knew her board and staff needed to find a better way of telling the story of SOS Center’s hard and dedicated work.

“While we knew we were doing good work, we were stuck on how to share our story,” Jodi said. “We would meet someone and be so focused on ‘we need money.’ We needed to build relationships, but struggled with the conversations we needed to have. We didn’t know how to get there.”

After selling this idea to her board, alinea was hired to work with SOS Center on strategic relationship cultivation as well as to create a compelling professional case statement to use to inspire people with their story. As soon as the case statement was created and presented to the board, Jodi already saw a renewed sense of engagement among them. 

“I think they’re getting it.  In August, one of the board members immediately contacted an old family friend and brought her in as a new board member. One of our committed board members felt uncomfortable asking for anything.  After she learned how to talk about SOS Center, she was able to get donations and now feels very comfortable talking about the Center.  Her husband became involved and after he learned how to tell our story, solicited a number of auction items for our fundraiser,” continued Jodi.

Jodi saw by September that board members were more engaged in identifying relationships and positive where they hadn’t ever been before.  “Shemagne from alinea kept us on task and truly got to know us. We even found the process fun.  Everyone came up with contacts they had, thinking outside the box.  The more they talked the more excited they got. One idea led to another. Being this engaged in the positive at a board meeting hadn’t happened in a year,” Jodi exclaimed. “This was exciting!”

With a renewed passion from her board and a new approach of telling stories, Jodi feels excited and knows that SOS Center is on the right track.  While SOS will always be fundraising, in the future Jodi plans to find more sustainable fundraising to get beyond a critical point to allow SOS to concentrate more on programming. In 2012, SOS Center would like to expand the Adult Basic Education Program, recruit more board members and volunteers as well as secure resources for ongoing capital improvements.

“After working with alinea, we learned that we need the knowledge, and the commitment. We need the tools and skills,” Jodi said.  “And we need to keep a relationship with alinea because this is just a tip of the iceberg of what we are capable of!”

Part II: #1 Fundraising Tool: Your Professional Case Statement

Writing Your Mission, Vision and Unique Approach

In my previous post, How to Build the 10 Sections of Your Case Statement, I discussed with you why it is so important for your story to be clearly articulated by as many people as possible in order to cultivate the relationships you need in order to attract resources.  With a compelling and concise case statement to put in the hands of as many people as possible, you will be on the path of attracting resources in places you might never even expect.  So many of my clients have been surprised by the resources they have attracted once they learned to tell their story.  If you haven’t already, check out my blog, Making Relationship Fundraising Work for your Non-Profit or School, for more inspiration!

I also discussed the keys to grabbing your reader’s attention in the beginning of your document with a “Did you know?” section that also emphasizes the need for the work your school or organization does.  Now it is time to discuss the next 3 sections of your case statement:

1. Your mission and how you achieve your mission  
2. Your vision for the future 
3. Your unique approach

Let’s get started!

Section #2 – Mission and how you achieve your mission

Your mission should be short and sweet and clearly describe why your nonprofit exists.  It is extremely important though that your mission statement never says you do more than three things. As much as we would like, people will never be able to remember more.  You should also use language that everyone can understand.  The language we use within our field could sound completely foreign to someone outside of it. 

Next, following your mission statement should be no more than three bullets that describe how you achieve your mission.  Here are some examples from our clients’ case statements to give you a better idea.

Example – Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association www.wccaa.org     

The Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association (WCCAA) collaborates with government, individuals, agencies and companies to increase access to quality early care and education for all families.  We achieve our mission in three ways:

• WCCAA influences public policy to increase standards, quality and access to early care and education for all families.
• WCCAA provides professional development on early care and education to strengthen best practices and increase quality.
• WCCAA supports its members via access to a network of center administrators.

Example – Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship  www.ceoofme.biz

The Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship (CTE) empowers young people ages 9-24 to see themselves as the CEO of Me as they experience personal and professional growth through programs and coaching related to financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

We accomplish our mission through:

•  Personal and professional enrichment experiences that allow young people to see themselves in a variety of roles and build personal character traits like self-discipline, business etiquette and perseverance.
• Entrepreneurship and financial literacy programs that teach young people how to launch small businesses, manage and invest money and develop critical thinking skills.
• Individualized coaching to prepare young people for success as entrepreneurs and professionals in contemporary business settings. 

Example – BHK Child Development Board – www.bhkfirst.org

BHK Child Development Board serves children and families through innovation, collaboration and comprehensive services that set high standards of excellence.

We accomplish our mission through:

• Bay

  Child Development and Education Programs for Children that are research-based best practices taking place in a caring and nurturing environment in order to build a solid foundation for each child's success. 

• Programs for Families that transform ordinary interactions with their child into extraordinary learning experiences!

• Health and Wellness Programs that  help families, staff and health professionals overcome barriers that prevent families and children from receiving needed health services.

Example – Red Cedar Environmental Institute 

Through a hands-on learning community focused on understanding the Earth’s systems, Red Cedar Environmental Institute provides middle school students with an academic experience tailored to inspire and challenge every single student.

How we achieve our mission:

• Engaged students – We tailor our curriculum to students who learn better through hands-on projects and scientific inquiry.  No matter a student’s starting point, they will be challenged accordingly and be free to maximize their progress according to their ability.

• Project-based learning – Projects related to natural resources in the Chetek area will act as the vehicle to learn core subjects like math, reading and language arts as well as 21^st Century skills of collaboration, problem solving and communication.

• Earth’s systems – Focusing on the natural resources of the Chetek area inspires projects that will benefit our local community and allowing students to deeply research projects empowers them to make their own conclusion. 

Section #3 – Vision for the Future

People are much more inspired by your vision for what the world looks like because of your nonprofit that what you actually do.  Your work is important, but often nonprofits lose sight of what their ultimate goal is.  Your vision for the future should paint a colorful picture of the impact you hope your organization will have.  Ideally, your stakeholders (people and organizations that are impacted by your organization) should contribute to this vision.  If they do, they will feel like they have ownership of helping make it happen. 

Here are some examples of compelling vision statements:

Example – Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association  www.wccaa.org

All children are prepared for personal and educational success

• WCCAA is a global model for collaboration to influence public policy and professional development to impact best practices for early care and education.

• WCCAA inspires a family-friendly philosophy empowering early care and education centers to care for children and assist businesses to achieve goals through secure and productive employees.

Example – St. Marcus Lutheran School & Church www.stmarcus.org

St. Marcus is a nationally recognized leader in urban educational reform and a welcoming and inviting force of transformation for the Milwaukee Community.

Example – CAPITA Productions, Inc.  www.capitalproductions.org

Through world-wide support of its endowment and scholarship fund, CAPITA offers unlimited opportunities for people seeking to grow as performers and as members of diverse communities.  

CAPITA’s unique inclusive approach to uniting communities through meaningful theatre experiences is a model adopted by communities around the world.

Through its quality productions, mentoring and touring opportunities, CAPITA is a pipeline of talented performers for professional performing arts companies around the world.  

Section #4 – Unique Approach

Funders don’t like duplication.  If your nonprofit is addressing a similar issue as others, it will be very important to distinguish your organization from others.  What is special about your approach to the same issue?  For example, St. Marcus Lutheran School emphasizes a “no-excuses” philosophy, and if a child is not succeeding it means that St. Marcus is not succeeding.  They don’t care what the background of the child is, and once that student enters the building their focus is on educating that child.  Bottom line, they focus on the students inside the building.  Mt. Lebanon Lutheran School requires that its teachers and staff appreciate how poverty impacts the students they service, and offers programs to families in order to increase the likelihood that students receive support at home.  They focus on students inside the school but also try to impact the support they receive at home for their education. 

Here are some other examples of how our clients describe their unique approach.

Example – Shiocton International Learning Academy www.silacharter.com

Our learning model takes personalized learning to a whole new level.  There are three key components of our model that ensure students are maximizing their learning: 

• Project-based learning allows students to explore areas of personal interest deeply and use a variety of learning styles to master core subjects key abilities.  Community partnerships provide mentors and opportunities to take learning out of the classroom to engages students and offer opportunities to apply knowledge to real-life scenarios.
• Additional support is offered immediately when it becomes apparent that students lack a particular skill.  For example, a short-term seminar may be used to teach a specific skill.  Or a web-based computer program, partnered with standardized testing, will identify remaining knowledge gaps to be used to further tailor learning for that student.
•  Accountability:  Five-year student achievement goals are included on our website.  Progress toward achievement goals will be published on the website and updated annually. 

Example – House of Love  www.house-of-love.org

Loving Family Environment + Personal Development Plans = Successful Independent Living:

• A safe and loving family environment full of positive encouragement, clear expectations and immediate feedback allow our youth to gain confidence and preparation for adulthood.
• Self sufficiency is achieved through individual personal development plans and rigorous support services in the areas of

o   life skills

o   education

o   holistic health

Take some time to review your Mission, Vision and Unique Approach to make sure they fit within these guidelines and are agreed upon with your board.   Once again, all sections should be compelling, concise and communicate the essence of your organization.  Please feel free to contact me for advice or even share your work here!  I’d love to learn more about your organization!

In my next post I will be discussing the final sections of your case statement.  You are well on your way to begin relationship fundraising!

Your Organization’s Banker Should be One of Your Biggest Cheerleaders!

5 Steps to Making this Happen:

Lately I’ve been talking a lot about how nonprofits and schools can strategically cultivate relationships in order to secure the resources they depend on for long-term sustainability and I hope you have been inspired through the real-life stories I illustrated for you of many of my other clients who have successfully implemented this strategy. Today, I’m going to share with you some more examples of how you can grow another relationship with a specific type of stakeholder – your bank. 

When you think about it, your organization’s bank has a big stake in your success. Why?

 

1. When your organization is financially stable, you are less of a risk to them.

2. As your organization grows its revenue, your bank benefits because their assets grow.

3. Your bank serves a neighborhood or community just like your organization does. When your organization is strong and has a positive impact on the community, you have more clients who need a bank to save money with.

4. Having nonprofits like yours as clients offers the bank an opportunity to say they support community organizations that help make the community a better place for everyone.

Clearly, banks benefit when they have you as a client. But the benefits to your organization of banking with a certain bank should go way beyond the ability to have a checking and savings account. Let me show you how:

 

1. Your banker should offer solutions. Your banker should be sitting down with you, quarterly, to review your situation to offer solutions that help you better manage your cash flow. If you contract with a county government to provide group home services to teens that are in the foster care system and receive large chunks of money at a time for expenses over a three or six month period, your checkbook is likely not paying interest on all that extra money it’s sitting on. When all’s said and done, all that excess money could be doing something other than just sitting stagnant for a month. Shouldn’t your banker suggest transferring a big chunk of that money into a special savings account or money market fund that pays some interest? Depending on the interest rate, this could be a significant amount. This happened to me once. As my business grew, I found myself spending a lot of time making trips to the bank to make deposits. I wanted to deposit my client payments so efficiently that I found myself making trips to the bank the second the mailman walked up my steps with my check. I got to the point where I was making 10 trips to the bank a month. Out of curiosity, I calculated this out and found I was spending five hours every month driving to the bank instead of using this time to help more clients. Ridiculous, right? When this finally dawned on me, I called my banker and asked what I could do about it. Within a week I received a remote deposit scanner and software that allowed me to make deposits literally, from my desk. After six free months, the cost was only $50 a month. Seriously, $50 is just a fraction of the value of my time working for my clients or connecting with new clients.

2. Your banker should be your cheerleader. Your banker should have an interest in your organization’s mission because you are their client. While your mission probably resonates with them, it’s up to you to empower them with the knowledge about how to talk about your organization and your needs. Bankers are relationship people out in the community, and great bankers should constantly look for connections and opportunities for their clients. Your bank probably has a foundation that’s a match for your mission. Great bankers guide you through the process of educating the right foundation about your organization and perhaps submitting a grant application.

Do you see what I mean? It’s extremely important to find the right bank and/or banker to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with. Why? It’s all about relationship cultivation. Let me show you.

 

I met my current business banker with PNC Bank in Milwaukee while working for an alinea client. My banker fell in love with our client and facilitated a major sponsorship donation for their annual event. She constantly talked about the school (still does) and connected the school to people who could help. At some point, she sat down with the decision makers of this school to talk about their current banking relationship and gained an understanding of this school’s needs. She presented a proposal that showed she could significantly reduce banking fees, and that PNC Bank could also offer some kind of financing for the organization’s expansion project. I literally watched her become a cheerleader for my client.

After observing what alinea was doing for this client, she sat down with us and admitted she was so inspired by our work that she immediately became our cheerleader. She told us, “When I’m meeting with a prospective client that happens to be working with alinea, they get extra points, because I know they’re looking outside their four walls.” From here on, she was always referring me to nonprofits. At this point she hadn’t even asked about my current banking relationship. After knowing her for almost a year, she asked to sit down with my husband and me to talk about my business and personal needs. She immediately found a way to help us consolidate some debt, secure a short-term loan, open a business line of credit, and save money on fees. I was sold, and I haven’t looked back since. I banked with my past bank for 25 years, and in all that time no one suggested I sit down with a business banker to review my business needs. I’m now a cheerleader for PNC Bank because I feel like I’m my business banker’s only client. 

Whenever I sit down with a prospective client, I now always ask them about their current banking relationship. Sometimes nonprofits look at me funny because they’re not sure what a banking relationship is supposed to look like. Recently I sat down with a nonprofit that had a small budget of $150,000. They were paying $90 per month in fees. I told them I thought that seemed high and I connected them with my business banker who immediately saved them fees. I worked with a larger organization that had $300,000 sitting in an account earning no money. It was a kind of endowment. When I asked them how often their banker came to see them to talk about their account, they laughed. I connected them with my business banker, they moved their money and they were also encouraged to apply for a significant grant from the PNC Foundation because their interest in serving children from birth to five matched the organization’s mission to provide early child care and education to low-income families.

Real relationship cultivation takes time and thought. Here are the steps you should take beginning today so your bank can become your cheerleader:

Steps

1. Start by assessing your relationship with your current bank. If you’re not happy, you could start by asking for a meeting with someone who is supposed to serve your account and ask them to meet with you to review your financial situation and make recommendations about how you could be doing things better. If you decide your current bank is not a match, go to another bank branch in your neighborhood or try to get a referral from another nonprofit that is excited about their bank. 

2. Once you find a bank you’re interested in, call them and ask to schedule a meeting with a business banker who specializes in nonprofits. Tell them you’re checking out some new banks because you’re not happy with your current bank. At the meeting, educate the banker about your organization and its financial situation. Tell them you’re looking for a banker that will be interested in your organization’s success and will be willing to spend the time to work with you to do a better job with your finances. You’re interviewing them. 

3. Once you choose a bank, remember strategic relationship cultivation is not about asking for money or other things. Reach out to your banker and offer to take some time to share your story through a tour. Remember to tell your story in a compelling, concise and consistent manner and be clear about where you want the organization to go and what you need to get there. Ask them what they think and don’t forget to ask them, “Who else needs to know about us?” They likely will think of five other people who will be interested in your organization’s mission. They might even ask, “How can I help?” That’s it. That’s all you ask for except to put them on your mailing list to stay in touch.

4. Remember to send a hand written thank you note to your banker after your meeting.

5. Mark in your calendar that you need to do some kind of follow-up in about a month. That could be an email to your banker sharing a success story, it could be a personal invitation from one of your board members to an event, or it could be you noticed the banker was written up in the local business journal because of an award they received. Just reach out.

6. Begin to reach out to the other people your banker thought would be interested in your organization. Call them, mention the connection and ask if they would be interested in learning about your organization or taking a tour. If not, no worries. Ask them if you could just put them on the email list. If not, no worries. Thank them for the opportunity to spread the word about your mission. 

7. If you do this right, and you’ve inspired people and been clear about where you want to go and how to get there, the people who are inspired will offer to help in ways that are meaningful to them, which could result in millions of dollars like it did for one of our clients.

If you’ve got stories, please share them with us. Let me know if this posting has been helpful and how you plan to leverage what you’ve learned.

Starting New Nonprofits: 5 things to do before you file for your 501(c)(3) status

There are so many amazing people who want to make the world a better place. These people are so generous and giving and often see their nonprofit idea as a ministry, the purpose to their lives. Usually motivated by passion for delivering a program, they are typically are not focusing on the tasks that will make them successful.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’VE GOT THAT AMAZING IDEA FOR A NEW NONPROFIT!

1. Research your idea. You may think you’ve got a new idea, but chances are someone else has thought of the same thing. Find out who else in your community is doing something similar. That doesn’t mean you should give up on your idea, but it does mean you will have to do it in a way that is different and unique from others. Funders hate duplication.

For example, I met with a woman who started an organization that serves at-risk teen girls. After listening to her mission and the services she would offer, I explained that there are already so many programs for girls and many of the services she was offering were already being provided. As we continued to talk though, she identified the one thing that she wanted to do that I had never heard before. She required the girls to participate in a weekly reading circle. They read books out loud, discussed them and also participated in writing projects. I thought that was such a powerful way to empower these girls and told her that should be her main focus.

The other reason you need to research is to find best practices and learn from others’ mistakes. People love to talk about their own organizations and are usually more than willing to share their successes and failures.

2. Get clear on your story. From day one, you need to see every moment of every day as an opportunity to inspire people with how you want to change the world. Each person you talk with is a potential ambassador and resource for you. Your “story” needs to be compelling, concise and consistent. It also needs to be driven by a vision for the future – how the world will be better because of your organization. Potential supporters and donors invest in your vision for the future, not your mission or what you’re going to be doing day to day.

You also will need to develop a professional case statement (one piece of paper with two sides of content) that includes your mission, vision for the future, unique approach, motivation for your idea, any past success that shows you can be successful in this venture, your goals for the next 12 months, and how people can help you. Now test it. When you quickly share your story, your answer to the question, “Tell me about your idea,” should not be more than 10 seconds long, or you’ll lose them. If they say, “WOW, how do you do that,” you’re on the right track. If you have to clarify, you need to work on your story more.

For example, I worked with an organization that had been around for 20 years and had just stagnated. When I looked at their mission, it said it did about 20 different things. I asked the founder if they really did do all of those things, and the answer was no. I asked her which of those 20 things they are great at, and it came down to three. You should never say you do more than three things or people won’t remember any. We helped the organization get clear on their purpose, facilitated a community visioning session to create a compelling vision for the future and developed a professional case statement. One of the board members raved about the case statement who previously didn’t know how to talk about the organization. The clarity in their story led to him having more confidence in inspiring others with the work of the organization.

3. Figure out who and what you need before you apply for nonprofit status. In too many cases, founders rush and are not strategic when they put their board of directors together. Some founders want to control everything so they ask people to sit on the board who will act as “yes people,” or they recruit people of influence who do not have the time to help. New organizations need working boards, and you need to be very clear on expectations and what you need them to do before you recruit.

For example, we work with a woman who is working to open her 2^nd charter school. She has a professional case statement and a committed board. Unfortunately, everyone on the board works for other struggling nonprofits or agencies that are in related fields. No one on the board works in the private sector, no one has the connections to potential donors they need, no one has a marketing/PR background, and no one has expertise in finance or law. Now she will need to reorganize her board to get the people and talent she needs to be able to secure resources and get connected to the people who can help her be sustainable.

4. Role of the founding board should focus on three things:

· Developing or fine tuning the program and putting a system in place to track impact and results

· Tirelessly promoting the organization in the community in the same compelling, concise and consistent manner

· Making connections, opening doors, inviting people to understand the power of your mission and identifying opportunities for resources (dollars, people, partners, etc.).

Yes, that means fundraising, and it begins with the board. From day one, board members should be required to make a meaningful financial contribution to the organization and help secure the dollars needed to file your nonprofit status and other start-up costs.

For example, I worked with a small group home for teen boys who are not a match for regular foster care. The board lacked the direction they needed to know how to contribute their talents and connections. After working with them to better articulate who they are and set clear goals, we helped them facilitate an information session for prospective volunteers. Only five people came, but I told them it’s never about quantity, it’s about the quality of the interaction with people. One of the five people was a 25 year old man who had stayed at the group home, and he was doing well. Another one of the guests was a connection of the president of the board; he had never invited her to learn about the organization before. Well, four out of the five people joined a committee and the other person sent a check for $1,000 (their largest donation) and recruited her daughter, who had expertise in marketing.

5. Cultivate relationships. Again, don’t rush to get your IRS paperwork done. With your board, brainstorm a big list of people and organizations that may be interested in your idea or could give you valuable feedback. For example, when I wanted to start Friends of Bradford Beach, I immediately went to The Park People, the Milwaukee County Parks Department and the county supervisor to share my idea and ask for feedback. In every case, referred me to another resource I needed to move my idea forward. ASK FOR HELP! The purpose of meeting with these people is NOT TO ASK THEM FOR MONEY. It’s to inspire them with something you’re passionate about, ask them what they think, if they see themselves getting involved, who else needs to know and if they would be willing to connect you to others who might be interested. NO ASKING FOR MONEY right now.

For example, our new client is an organization that’s been around for 30 years providing GED and adult education to people in their community. We’re going to help them do a better job of telling their story and inspire and empower their board members to focus on making connections and inviting people in to the organization to experience their mission. Currently, the board members are very uncomfortable about doing this. When I explained that relationship fundraising isn’t about asking for money, they looked at me kind of funny. I explained, that relationship fundraising is about inspiring people with something you’re passionate about and inviting them to experience the magic that goes on inside the organization. The next step is not to ask for money, but to ask people what they think, if they see themselves getting involved, who else do they think needs to know about the organization and whether they would be willing to make a connection. One of the board members, who happened to have wealth in her family and know a lot of people, happily said, “I can do that!”