You Need to Find a Way to Bootcamp – And Here’s Why
Nick Fellers | October 10, 2008
We’ve received many phone calls and emails about the economy, etc. What to do? How to change? How can we help? My response, plea and advice is find a way to get to training camp – and here’s why:
- It’s not a normal training: You don’t want “training”. I know that. What you want is money… to get out of the rat race… ‘the secret’. We’ve designed Bootcamp to be a stepping stone for transformation AND infuse money in the next 100 days.
- It’s not a normal training II: Again, not a boring workshop. Practical stuff. You’re building tools, strategy and DOING things the entire time. Very experiential – not two days of lecture.
- Totally customized: Everyone wants to know how to apply For Impact to ‘their sector’: schools, social service agencies, rural, museums, animal, green/environment, health, big nationals, small locals, etc. We customize each training camp to use examples and tools for YOU. We also take a lot of time to connect with each organization one-on-one to insure you’re ‘getting it’ and to work through your biggest challenges or strategic issues.
- It works: I’ve been following up with attendees from our last three training camps. Everyone is in the field, with prospects and generating real cash. $400,000 and $800,000 gifts (often these gifts are 2-3 times the entire funding goal!). So far this year 98.3% of attendees have said the tcamp ‘far exceeded’ their ROI expectations.
- It doesn’t cost any money: If you say it’s not in the budget then you’re right… you should NOT come – you have the wrong outlook and attitude. Be an entrepreneur. It has a 100% money back guarantee. I don’t play that up because it sounds ‘sales-ish’ – not authentic. But we offer it because NOBODY has a budget for this. Re-allocate money and then use the ROI to provide budget relief wherever needed. UNDERWRITE this a SOLUTION. Recent training camp attendees have:
- Used money from a ‘marketing budget’.
- Had someone ‘underwrite the training’ – as a guaranteed
investment. - Put the training on a credit card and paid off in 30 days with
new gifts (I love this one).
- Today you’re a nonprofit and tomorrow you’re not: The reason training camp has such a huge impact on organizations is because help you to stop being apples and start being oranges. We’re not teaching you how to increase the annual fund by 10%… we’re teaching you how to be something completely different, to think bigger and get very big funding results. It’s apples and oranges. It’s not about being a ‘better apple’. It’s about being an orange.
- Commitment by Tom and Nick TO OFFER A SOLUTION WITH INCREDIBLE VALUE: We started the training camp as an alternative to ‘consulting’ and to create a tool with incredible value. We wanted to scale our impact by giving everyone an accelerated way to get different results. We’ve raised more than a $1Billion and as of last year our alums have raised more than $1Billion.
We’re also in the field every week – during this economy or any other. Training camp cuts out all the fundraising crap and drills (and drills) on fundamentals for the org and for the individual. This is our way of impacting the 3rd Sector.
- Because of the recommendations by your peers in the FI Community: I’ve asked recent training camp alums to post their ‘unfiltered’ additions to my post below.
Upcoming camps:
- Central Ohio – Oct 22-23
- NYCity – Dec 9-10 SOLD OUT
San Diego – Jan 15-16 - NYCity – Feb 23-24
- Info & Registration.
Edit: We’ve also opened up our ‘online training camp’.
Training camp is the best resource I can recommend. Come as an individual or as a team. I feel strongly about this solution and know it will help every reader.
11 Comments So Far
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About For Impact
We help "nonprofits" fund their visions through training, coaching and consulting based on 25+ years of experience and $1Billion+ raised directly and $1Billion via coaching/training. For Impact is also our message, our commitment and a movement.
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Jennifer W. - October 10th, 2008 10:55 am
I know all about tight budgets. I would say this needs to be a top priority. I have attended several trainings. This was the only one that made a difference to my bottom line. This training made all others seem like a waste of time and money. It is essential. We used to raise about $200,000 per year and we’ve already raise $800K in three months coming out of the training.
Campana Academy – Attended April 08
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Rusty Stachlewitz - October 10th, 2008 11:41 am
I am the only fundraiser in my organization and also implement all the programs, a virtual one man show. The For Impact Training Camp showed me how to make the most of my time. After the June Training Camp I visited my largest potential donor and got a commitment for a lead donation on a $5 Million dollar project. A week later I followed up with a $10,000 commitment (via phone call) from a company that previously had never donated and a $25,000 donation for a company that had a giving average of $1,000/year. I have transformed an organization that functioned on a $200,000 budget into one that will realized over a million dollars before the end of my fiscal year in June 2009 and we will have a huge impact because of it! Now more than ever a trip to the training camp is worthwhile. Next week I hit the road again with a goal of $400,000 before the first of November and I’m sure I’ll get it! It isn’t about making an extra $10,000 at your Gala event. It is about making an extra $100,000 from those that you can engage with your impact! I love it and my Board loves it. Now more than ever For Impact organizations need this training. Or stay in your office and worry about the economy, that just means more money for those of us that aren’t afraid to go get it.
The Lawn Institute – Attended June 2008
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Jack K. - October 10th, 2008 11:50 am
If you want to put your worries behind you, get to the camp. I would guarantee you that you’ll make up the spare change it costs to attend as soon as you get in front of some qualified prospects. However, that means you actually have to understand what a qualified prospect is and how to actually sell your organization’s vision to them. I’m involved in getting an office started up for the FOR IMPACT organization I work for and this training completely changed our approach. If you can’t take what you learn at this camp and raise thousands of dollars to make up the cost of attending…I honestly think it’s time for you to consider finding a new career.
I was new to the sales world (yes I said sales, not fundraising) and it’s made a world of difference for me. Our local board chair (retired with decades of executive experience in companies throughout North America) attended as well and he has already recommended the training to some of our colleagues!
Put it on the credit card, sell your computer, do whatever you need to get there…I assure you it will be worth it.
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Cate S - October 10th, 2008 11:51 am
Suddes Training is the best trainings that I have ever attended in the field, or frankly in any field. Doing sales in the non-profit community means that I am asking people who ask for money all day, to give a little bit up and believe in my mission and outreach… believe in my product. Its a constant uphill climb, sound familiar to you?
The training did a great job of blatantly throwing ideas into the pile and saying… this is reality deal with it. You ARE asking for money, you ARE selling your mission, and it really IS that easy. It took our every day thoughts and turned the around so we could view them differently, and develop a stronger/more educated stance on the topic. We were forced to work together, think outside the box, and leave behind the “assumptions” of the non-profit community.
One of my favorite lessons was how to GUIDE a conversation to the goal you had pre-determined, and how to tailor your details and ask towards the view that your donor has. Nick and Tom TEACH each one of the campers how to SHOW their donors the IMPACT they are making.
Once you leave Suddes — the education and confidence is really amazing! You will realize it days later as you are spitting out the words/lessons you learned to others every day.
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Patrick Grace - October 10th, 2008 1:44 pm
Far too many of us in the development profession talk about and pay lip service to the ideas and principles of good fundraising…a.k.a. sales. The Suddes training camp will really focus you and your entire organization on several simple steps/processes that so many of us intuitively think we know, but unfortunately don’t implement. The simplistic approach offered by Tom and Nick is so fundamental it is frightening and yet their “in your face” reality check really provided a motivational turning point for me.
I think we all tend to put forward excuses and noise as to why we can’t raise more resources. I think there is a certain amount fear that the Suddes camp helps break-down and overcome. It really is all about “visits”…but why don’t more of us do this? Attending the Suddes camp will help you move through these fears and obstacles and learn how and why each of us has the ability to make a huge impact on organization’s mission, particularly during this incredibly uncertain economic environment. Now is not the time to implement a “bunker” mentality with donors, but rather provides yet another opportunity to meet with those investors who mean the most to us.
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Peter Schrappen - October 10th, 2008 2:38 pm
Thanks to this training, we are now asking and getting more zeros.
We received a $400,000 investment yesterday (yes, yesterday while the Dow dropped 400 points or whatever). This is ten times bigger than any investment we have ever received, and we are just leaving the first 100 days in our 1,000 day funding plan.
This investment is directly related to Nick’s training. Simply put: we moved from the ask based upon a substantial need to an ask based upon our vision and strategic direction. Consequently, targeting and tracking the qualified prospect around this “big number” became incredibly easy.
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Mike Del Ponte - October 10th, 2008 6:37 pm
I almost made the mistake of putting off training camp because my social-sector start-up had almost no money at all. Luckily, I attended training camp. The results…
My vision grew
My fundraising confidence grew
& my schedule is now filled with visits to qualified prospects.
Putting off training camp would have been a disaster. Not only am I a better fundraiser, but I’m running my organization at a completely higher level.
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Carol Rowland - October 13th, 2008 2:29 pm
The very best thing about the For Impact training camp is the emphsis on “just ask”. It is a simple message but the most important thing that we do. Being reminded to ignore all of the obstacles and focus on the ask was worth its weight in gold.
I highly recommend this training camp.
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Jeremy V. - October 13th, 2008 4:26 pm
The For Impact Training is a must in today’s environment. There is no better time to get out there and “Just Ask”. Too many organizations will make the mistake that within this current financial climate they can’t raise money. They couldn’t be more wrong. You can’t afford to fall into the trap of paralysis by analysis. Be proactive.
Go to training camp. Get the skills you need. Then go out and raise a lot of money for your mission.
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Rocky Malloy - October 17th, 2008 4:02 pm
My first day using shoulder to should approach I learned at Impact the man I was speaking with told me I came at the worst possible time. He had lost 200 million over the last three days. He was ready to end the meeting with that sentence when I quote the scripture below.
And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: (Gen 26:1,12-13)
We ended up talking for three hours; he cut a check on the spot and committed to helping monthly.
The time spent at the Impact training camp gave me tremendous confidence. The confidence to look a guy in the eye that just lost 200 million and say it is time to give!
Rocky Malloy
President
http://www.missiongeneration.org
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Ben Myers - November 18th, 2008 5:08 pm
I continue to chew and feed on the W.O.W. emails. They are GREAT! They challenge the way I think and operate… and they do so on a consistent basis. I need regular intervals of “interruptions” to keep me on track and focused. They also keep my For Impact mind fresh and up to date.
I also refer back to the manifestos, pdf notes, booklets, mantras, and everything else I’ve gotten my hands on. Those things continue to be vital tools to our success.
One small thing… is my napkin. I have the “IMPACT drives INCOME” napkin on my wall above my desk. As a “non-profit” I already knew in my heart and mind that it was all about the IMPACT. BUT, I didn’t talk that way, I didn’t act that way, which means I didn’t LIVE that way. You guys put words, ideas, and REAL practices around values I new to be true. Without that… I’d still be flopping around wondering if I understood what was going on; thinking everyone else gets it but me.
One of my greatest successes (and failures) is the VISIT. I’m not sure why, but I have it ingrained in my mind that getting someone to visit us here at camp during a session is crazy or impossible. BUT every time someone sets foot on the grounds while camp is session and walks around with me talking about our impact… THEY REALLY GET IT! This past summer we had several church groups, student ministries, and families that came to serve alongside us, each for a week. In a matter of five weeks we had over 50 people who not only understood, but became a vital part of our IMPACT. Not only did they hear our story… they became part of our story. This not only accomplished the “funding” side of camp, but made a huge impact on the staffing, program, and facilities side of camp. Individuals from those groups are now out sharing our IMPACT and they continue to return to camp to INVEST.
This has created a shift in the method we use for staffing during summer camp. This coming summer (2009) we will be partnering with churches, small groups, student ministries, and families who have the same PASSION for IMPACTING lives. They will each serve for a week – as our support staff, assisting with our programs, and funding our VISION (which is also their vision). We will also be partnering with them to provide them with everything they need to IMPACT their group while at camp. It’s kind of a “For Impact Way of Life”. This is going to be a new kind of camp ministry.
It all started with a boot camp. Thanks for inviting us to become a For Impact ministry.
Ben
Arrowhead Bible Camp
http://www.shepherdscamp.org
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