by Judy Wilkinson
Last year our primary fund-raising efforts centered on grant applications. Paul successfully applied for his third VISTA grant. We devoted a lot of time to recruiting (within a ridiculously limited time frame), training (over several days, a training in which many of you participated), and finally day-to-day supervision. Through unforeseeable circumstances, all three VISTAS were unable to complete their obligations for various reasons.
In a nutshell, this VISTA experience demonstrates the limitations in seeking grants. First, one must provide services, which sometimes don't necessarily fit the organization's immediate needs. Second, a lot of staff time is spent administering the grant. Grants often come with contractual or structural requirements that don't fit our grassroots model. Not that grants are bad! Certainly we will continue some grant-seeking efforts.
But there's nothing like unencumbered funds! Money which, with our newly-adopted Gift Acceptance Policy in place, we decide how to spend. Take the $35,000 from the lawyer in Santa Barbara who was looking for blindness organizations to complete the wishes of his deceased client. That was just a gift from the blue! For most donations, it takes a long time for "friends raising" to reach fruition.
Major unencumbered fundraising activities for 2018 commence with our Dining in the Dark fund raiser. Next up: our Fireworks Booth: the last few days of June through July 4. Board Member Paul Patche is spearheading this wildly-popular effort in the Sacramento area.
Fast forward to our experience with a NANOE workshop called Major Gifts Ramp-Up. NANOE (NATIONAL Organization of Nonprofit Organizations and Executives) came to my attention late last summer because of a provocative book by Jimmy Larose called Re-Imagining Philanthropy, which shows exciting new ways of encouraging donations by focusing on donor needs and interests. I will put links to various formats of this book on our lists. While we cannot braille it for you, the office can provide a text file for your convenience. Several of us (Board members Frank Welte, Sharlene Ornelas, myself and my husband Steve Mendelsohn), attended a training where the Major Gifts Ramp-Up (MGRU) model was presented.
As a part of that training, CCB bought a very comprehensive package of materials, including a library of thousands of resource documents and training materials. In fact, a person can train online to become a financial development consultant, even a CEO! We own this set of materials forever, and we can give any CCB member access on an as-needed basis.
That package includes DonorScope, a database of millionaires. Elsewhere in this issue, you can read a condensed version of the proposal we will be working under with Development Systems International (another entity under the NANOE umbrella). The usually-slow process of "friends building" becomes expedited by following a very precise protocol that ensures success for reaching major donors.
The model is projected over an 18-month period. We are beginning in the Sacramento area, but once we learn the process, we hope to implement elsewhere in future years. The idea is that, probably in the fall, we will hold an informational event for donors where we ask for no money but give them our newly-revised Case For Support. From that group we winnow to a group which we invite to an "Ask" Event (early 2019) where we ask for single donations. From that group we narrow to a smaller number, after doing serious homework to more fully understand each prospect's range of commitments and interests. Then with the assistance of our project team, who will go with us, Paul and I (and perhaps a couple of others) will go on visits with the "3-part ask": a recurring fixed yearly donation amount, a "stretch gift" (say a new van) and third: inclusion in their long term planning.
While we will be asking several members to work closely with us, the beauty of this project is that no one who doesn't feel so inclined, need be involved.
We talked with organizations that have used this system who assured us that if we put in the time and develop the proper strategies, we will succeed.
In his article in this issue, Paul speaks of exciting times ahead. With your support and enthusiasm, 2018 and 2019 (CCB's 85th anniversary year) will see this organization once again achieve the financial stability to begin making our long-treasured dreams come true.
