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!”

5 Biggest Foundation Fundraising Mistakes

Are you focusing on the right things when it comes to foundation fundraising? Here are some common mistakes:

Submitting a grant application without a relationship with the foundation. Did you know that only 1-2% of grant applications get funded? If the foundation can afford to fund 25 grants, 75 will not get funded. So if you were the decision maker how would you choose which organizations to fund? Well, if it was me, I would start with the organizations that I know something about or have some sort of relationship with rather than one I’ve never heard of. What it all comes down to is that you should never send a grant in without having some sort of relationship with the foundation you are applying to.

What to do: Before submitting an application, visit the foundation’s website and find out who the staff people and board members are. Ask your own staff and volunteers if anyone has a connection to any of those people. Even a call from a volunteer to the foundation asking for clarification on whether you would be a match followed by an invitation to tour your organization or other opportunity to meet with someone from the foundation is a great first step.

2. Hiring a grant writer. Most organizations begin foundation fundraising by hiring a grant writer. But that’s focusing on the wrong thing. But honestly, it’s not the writing of the grant that makes a difference, it’s the mission and effectiveness of the organization, as well as a compelling picture of what the future looks like because of the organization’s work. And how do you help a foundation experience the power of your mission? By inviting them in to hear your story, see your mission in action, having the people you serve share how your programs have changed their lives, and share your plans for the future. Relationships come first, then writing.

What to do: If you’re in the position to hire someone, don’t hire a grant writer. Hire someone who can help you identify and prioritize prospective foundations and then work with your staff and board to reach out to those people and foundations and invite them to tour your organization. The goal here is to inspire them with your story and share your future plans.

3. Not following up. If you’ve been lucky enough to have a staff person or board member from a foundation visit your organization or school, and they invite you to submit a letter of intent, then you better do that right away! Ideally, you want to be invited to apply for a grant, and when you get the opportunity, this is your chance to impress the foundation.

What to do: Once you’ve submitted the letter or application, you will want to follow up to make sure they received your documents, ask if there is anything else they need or if anyone else would be interested in a tour of your organization. Many organizations require a follow-up report to show how their grant made a difference. Every interaction is an opportunity to show your gratitude and continue to build your relationship with the foundation. Get this done on time!

4. Not learning from rejection. Many organizations get rejected because they haven’t done their homework; they may not have been a match. If they had developed a relationship with the foundation ahead of time, they would have received feedback on whether or not they were a good match for the foundation. Others may have a great application, but because the foundation cannot fund every great application, in the end they will probably fund those they have some experience with.

Either way, if you get a rejection letter, this is also an opportunity to build a relationship with the foundation, and it’s a learning opportunity too. Whether the foundation is able to fund you one time or many times, your relationship could lead to many other connections or resources. For example, while the foundation may have decided not to fund your grant application, one of the foundation officers or board members may have really been inspired and may decide to support you as an individual.

What to do: When you get a rejection letter, make a call to the person who sent the letter and tell them you would like to learn from the experience and see if you can get some feedback on how you could do a better job on your next application. Ask if it would make sense to apply in the future, and then see if it would be possible to invite someone from the foundation to tour your organization. Ask what they think your weaknesses are and even if they could connect you to resources to help you improve in those areas.

5. Not continuing to cultivate the relationship once a gift is received. Many organizations think their job is done once they receive a grant from a foundation. Really, your job has only just begun when it comes to building a long-term relationship. This foundation could lead you to many other individuals who could find your story to be very inspirational. Rejection is a message to you that you need to do something different.

What to do: First, make sure you put staff and board members of the foundation on your mailing lists to receive newsletters, event invitations and annual reports. If you have any major events, make sure one of your board members personally invites people from the foundation to attend. If you have a fantastic success story, send a quick email off to someone at the foundation sharing how their donation has made a difference in your ability to deliver on your mission. Invite them in for another tour and be sure to ask them, “Who else needs to know about us?” This is one of the most powerful questions you can ask a supporter. One supporter could lead you to one or even ten prospective supporters.

Let us know what you think!

Putting Relationship Fund-raising to Work

10 Steps To Get You Started

Being able to attract resources and consistently engage your relationships requires the right mindset and the right formula for engagement. In the first two blog posts of this series I took you on a journey through the stories of some of my clients.

Now it is time to make the vision for your school or organization a reality. It's time to roll up your sleeves and get started. Follow these 10 steps and in no time you will be experiencing your own success story!

How to Get Started

Step #1 – If you don't have a professional case statement that articulates the "essence" of your organization, at least begin by developing an elevator speech that all of your staff and volunteers are comfortable using.

Step #2 – Come together as an organization and have everyone brainstorm five people that might be interested in the work your organization does. Let them know that no one will be asking them for money or taking any action without their permission. They will be involved in any strategy of reaching out to them.

Step #3 – Prioritize those relationships and together determine the best first step (i.e., inviting them for a tour, the spring concert or open house). Again, there is no asking for money going on here.

Step #4 – Strategize a "compelling" experience for them. Don't point out the obvious (i.e., here’s the cafeteria, here’s the gym). Talk about your unique approach and allow them to experience it. Are your teachers more experienced that others? Do you teach based on the latest brain research? Highlight what's special, amazing or unique about your organization.

Step #5 – After the tour, sit down with the person, ask them what they think and "be quiet" as they share their impression and perhaps something personal about themselves. Ask them how they see themselves getting involved. Ask them "Who else needs to know about what we're doing here?" If they offer names, ask them if they could be willing to make a connection.

Step #6 – Provide a packet for them to take home, ask them if you can put them on your list in order to update them with success stories or invite them to another event. Even if they are not interested, they may pass it along to someone else.

Step #7 – Send a personal hand-written thank you note.

Step #8 – If the meeting went well, follow up in one month via phone or email to share something exciting about your organization and to see if they would like to attend an event.

Step #10 – Keep track of everything in a spreadsheet. All relationships need to have a next step and due date. Each week sort the spreadsheet by due date. All of the above should be done in partnership with board members and staff people/teachers.

We Love Success Stories

If you decide to try this, let us know what happens. We love success stories!

Attracting Resources Doesn't Happen By Accident

In last week's blog post, “Making Relationship Fund-raising Work for your Non-profit or School,” I took you on a journey to a new mindset about the ability to attract resources. I discussed the stories of three different organizations that benefited from this mindset.

Within each of these stories there was an organization that was able to attract resources without even asking. What did they have in common?

They consistently and successfully engaged people. And how does one do that? There are three steps to this process.

The Formula for Consistent and Successful Engagement

First, you must be able to inspire people with your story. This means your story must be compelling, concise and consistently told, as well as be driven by a vision for the future. You must be able to depict a clear picture of what the world will look like because of your school or nonprofit.

Second, you must be able to articulate what you need and how people can help. Let's say you're out at a cocktail party, and a couple asks you about your school. You did a great job of inspiring the couple with your unique approach to educating children. But now, when they ask you what your top priorities are, do you have an answer? Would your board members have the same answer? This happens all the time, and if you are not prepared to answer this question, you may miss out on an opportunity. Below is a great testimonial of a client who without any hesitation, had the answer to this question.

"I'm a co-founder of a charter school, and while I was on the board, another board member and I decided it was the right time to invite one of our relationships, a very influential community member, for a tour."

"During the tour and the lunch meeting, the school's founder did what many founders do - offered passionate stories about the children. At one point during the lunch, the gentleman asked, "What are your top three priorities?" She was ready for this question, and offered, "We need a new HVAC system or in three months we won't be able to open our doors. This is going to cost $75,000. We also need to clean and paint the gym, which will cost $20,000, and . . ." This gentleman stopped her and told her that she should consider#1 and #2 done. The next day he dropped off a check for $75,000."

Third, you must be strategic about cultivating relationships over a long time period. What does this entail?

• Really getting to know what people care about

• Asking people how they think they fit in

• Being clear about what you need and how people can help

• Saying thank you over and over and over again

• Continuing to connect and reach out to people.

This is a huge undertaking and some infrastructure is required to do it successfully. This is also not the job of "a fund-raiser." A fund-raiser's job is to drive the strategy and empower board members, staff people and ambassadors to confidently see every moment of the day as an opportunity to tell your organization's story, make connections, identify opportunities and bring those back to the organization to determine follow-up steps.

We Love Success Stories

If you decide to try this, let us know what happens. We love success stories!