The Secret to Nonprofit Success
The Secret to Nonprofit Success…
The secret to nonprofit success is not really a secret, but instead, remembering that there is a certain order that your nonprofit needs to be put together to be a success. Many can remember the “internet business crashes†that caused many losses in the technology world. The “internet crash†did not happen because the business ideas were bad ones, but instead, most internet businesses forgot one basic business principal. The principal is it takes money to make money. Many nonprofits fail because of this basic principal. Nonprofits, like any other business, need good stable funding in order to be successful. In this article I will show you the exact steps to get you started.
Just Enough
In the nonprofit’s case, funding is not as easy as going to the bank and getting a business start-up loan. It takes determination and strategy to find donors and even grants to provide the ongoing donations the nonprofit is going to need to start and maintain their programs. If cultivating this fundraising is done in the beginning then the nonprofit can have the funding to pay salaries and program expenses once it starts and continuing on. Many nonprofits struggle because those that start them work them as a second job as a volunteer, expect everyone else to work as a volunteer, and have to rely daily on donations just to “keep the lights on.â€
We will refer to that as a “just enough†mentality and eventually those running this type of nonprofit become weary. More times than not, there comes a time where there is just not enough and the nonprofit dreams have to be abandoned.
Normal Business Strategy
However, there is other way to run a nonprofit rather than the “just enough†strategy, that we will refer to as the “normal business†strategy. In this strategy the nonprofit focuses on establishing a stable funding base before engaging in any programs. Then with good and sustainable funding, the nonprofit can run much like a normal business.
Nonprofits are no different than any other business except for where the funding comes from. Because funding for a nonprofit comes from donors and grants, it is important to devote concerted time in the beginning on making sure that funding is strong. As the nonprofit begins engaging in its project focus the ability to put concerted time into fundraising will get more challenging. Instead, we recommend nonprofits spending the first 6 months to a year getting their funding stable and ongoing. Then they engage in their projects once they have the funding to run the nonprofit in the clear.
The advantages of this are easily seen. The nonprofit can stay on budget and have all the funds they need to make their first weeks, months, and years an ongoing success instead of questioning whether they have the funds to do the things they need to do. The nonprofit can actually employ full-time a paid staff rather than its staff be volunteers. This adds to the stability and success of the nonprofit. This means that for this first 6 months to a year you and your staff’s time will be spent on developing donors and grants. Most if not all of the funds coming in for this period will be used for salaries, marketing materials, and fundraising rather than any program expenses.
Putting the Normal Business Strategy in Place
There is a little formula and then some hard work to getting the nonprofit from the “just enough†mentality to the normal business strategy. The key is to recruit a team of workers and develop a fundraiser. Before you know it you will have great success.
The first step is getting good looking print material put together so that other people can tell your story with compassion and your image looks enticing. Then a couple of quick and easy fund raising events (which I will help you understand how to put together) and before you know it you will have an army of fund raising and volunteer program staff.
Storytelling
Fund raising, along with developing donors, is nothing more than storytelling. In the beginning, the story you tell everyone is the story of why you started the nonprofit and your passion for the cause or people you are going to help. Once you have some success in your nonprofit endeavors the story will change to include your success stories. You must become the best storyteller that ever lived and never pass on an opportunity to tell your story to everyone you meet.
Next you need to recruit an army of storytellers. These storytellers that you will recruit are your friends, family, current donors, supermarket cashiers and anyone that is excited about what your nonprofit does. If your friends and family are not excited then get them excited by getting them involved in a project and the waves of involvement will get them excited. You need everyone you know and everyone they know and everyone any of you meet telling the story of your nonprofit; the same story of your nonprofit. Here is where an important and overlooked part of the puzzle fits that keeps your nonprofit fund raising easy or it could get difficult. It is important that you are able to equip everyone you already know and those you meet with the ability to tell the “story†of your nonprofit. It is imperative that they can tell the story concisely, easily, and compellingly. If you have 50 people telling the story every day rather than just you the founder telling the story 5 times your nonprofit is going to have more people interested in it more quickly. That is where Ocean Grand can help you the best. Ocean Grand has over 25 years of business experience to draw from. We can help you to develop the “story†and the “storyboardsâ€. Then as they do in Hollywood from the storyboards and script you will make the “movieâ€. No you are not going to actually make a movie but I use that terminology so that you will understand the concept of what we are doing.
For example, when you go see a great movie, you recommend it to others and you might even purchase the DVD because you want to “own†that story. It is the same with nonprofit work, you need for people to see your “movie or story†then want to recommend it to others and even own a copy of the story themselves. Then you need to give those people as many copies of the “movie†they feel they can give away to others. Now you have others giving away the story exactly like it needs to be told because you developed the story. Now to take your story telling to the next level of “distribution” it is easy, hold a “premiere”.
The good news is you don’t have to make a movie. The most you have to do is put together a great image, print material, and online materials. Then you set up some small fund raising events, since we are using movie terminology, let’s call them “premieresâ€. In the “premieres†we are going to invite a small group of people together, tell the story, show them the story, and then give them compelling copies (brochures and business cards) of the story so that they can tell everyone else.
It’s not who you know that may be your biggest and best supporters. It is who they know. However you will never get to those “3rd degree’ (6 levels of separation) people unless those that you know can tell your story concisely, compellingly and with passion. However, you have to equip people with great looking material to retell your story; you don’t want them to be embarrassed to hand your materials out.
Ocean Grand’s Help with the Story
At Ocean Grand we know how to get your story into a form that others can retell with conviction and passion.
At the very least you need:
1.      A great logo that people will remember and love
2.      Professionally designed and printed business cards that look great and continue to tell the story
3.      Professionally designed and printed brochures that look great and tell the story
4.      Letterhead and Envelopes Professionally designed and printed
5.      A simple website that looks like all the other items above and tells the story complete with online giving.
Additional things that will help is:
1.      Possibly a presentation folder Professionally designed and printed along with a great introduction letter.
2.      Lastly, an interactive PDF that tells everything including detailed information that can be easily emailed.
With an arsenal like this you will look successful (people like to give and be involved in things that are already successful) and be ready to equip your army with the tools they need to retell your story. Many times only successful organizations have the marketing tools above either because of their success or after years of struggling they figured out they needed them and found the finances to put them together.
With this arsenal of storytelling materials it is easy to put together a couple quick, and highly effective events (they don’t even have to be large) and you will be on your way to storytelling success. It is highly possible (we have seen it several times) where a simple first event can bring in $30K in one night and within a year or less an organization has brought in $100K in donations.
First Things First
To get to first year success quickly, you have to get this first part right. You have to equip others with the ability to tell your story well every time they meet someone. You must equip your army of storytellers with great looking, well printed materials that they are proud to give to people. We have rarely found a substitute for this part of the puzzle.
Have you ever thought about the money spend on Presidential campaigns? Even after the primaries and there is only a couple people that the election is going to come down to, the campaigns roll on. Everyone knows who the candidates are yet there are still yard signs, stickers, buttons, TV ads, etc. and millions are being spent to “tell the story.”
We will do all the work on putting your arsenal together. The more of the items above that you can start off with the better. The first 5 are essential.
The fantastic news for you is that we love nonprofits and give them up to a 50% discount on all this work. This image branding for profit companies costs an arm and a leg but we give the discount to nonprofits because we know you don’t have a lot of money to burn.
Getting On to Business
Once your funds are ongoing and stable the rest of making your nonprofit successful will be a lot easier. With project funds secured and a well paid staff, the task of actually doing the work of your nonprofit project will be a lot more fun and fulfilling for everyone involved. Putting a nonprofit together is stressful and with limited funding the stress can be overwhelming. However, with good and ongoing funding out of the way, less time is needed to maintain a constant source of funds and grants. A little fundraiser here and a grant there coupled with the ongoing funding you already have keeps your nonprofit running like a normal business and not one in desperation. It does not do a nonprofit any good to have a great program without the funds to make it run right.
It is never too late in your nonprofit endeavor to go back to the beginning and start your nonprofit off right. We would love to help you make the impact in a nonprofit way that you have always dreamed of.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment