Be sure to look for the signs!
“Quick Stops Along the Way” is a monthly collection of issues, challenges and thoughts I think you’ll find helpful on “The Road Ahead.” If you’re pondering a question, post it below. I will respond with an answer in a future “quick stop.”
A Construction Sign on the Road Ahead
Our small organization is based in the United States, but we raise funds for and operate five schools for children living in slum conditions in Kenya. Our board is small, devoted, and steeped in wisdom. The need for education in the slums of Kenya is great. We’ve had great successes, and a small group of donors support our work. We have very little staff on this side of the ocean with all volunteer fundraising.
Question: Do we focus on building our infrastructure now or continue trying to raise funds to educate more children?
Answer: Now. That’s the short answer to your question. Organizations all over this country face this exact dilemma. When must we invest in organizational leadership and fundraising or community development staff? Isn’t it better to keep funding the need so that more are served?
Fundraising to improve will always be short-sighted if it isn’t balanced with strong leadership. Many nonprofit organizations serve in a vast ocean of needs as far as the eye can see. The only way to avoid sinking from exhaustion is to find islands of strength. For a nonprofit organization, those islands of strength are executive leadership, board of director leadership and clearly defined services.
I will say it again. The time is now. The smart organization looks for smart donors who understand an investment in leadership is the long-term answer to sustainability.
Smart donors find smart organizations that confidently swim in the ocean of needs because they know they can reach the islands of strength.
Slow Down for the School Zone Sign
I was asked a question at a presentation I made recently. A member of the audience wanted to understand more about the individuals who support their organization.
Question: What questions do I ask to learn what they really care about? And why should a donor’s giving style matter to me?
Answer: Donors have their own giving styles that are as distinct as having a giving brand. Ask a donor about their favorite donation (regardless of the recipient) and why it mattered. The answer is at the heart of giving. It also gets at what I call Giving Fingerprints. (Click and scroll down to download a free version of my Giving Fingerprints e-book.) Understanding giving styles helps us listen and learn what donors have to teach us about giving that truly matters to them.
Answer #2: This one’s for the donors. Stop for a breath or two to reflect on the answer when you hear that question. This will help you focus your giving on maximum impact. Remember that the joy of giving comes from deep within. Trust your instincts and give toward the joy.
The Scenic Viewpoint Sign Where Philanthropy Matters
Donors and nonprofit organizations grow better at philanthropy and service when the arc of creation and energy are at their center. Henri Bergson, the French Philosopher and 1927 Nobel Laureate in Literature, believed that a creative, unpredictable energy drives life.
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” Henri Bergson
