Comments on: Archived Seminar: Build Your Funding Strategy/Plan http://www.forimpact.org/2008/11/fundingstrategy.php Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:19:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Nick Fellers http://www.forimpact.org/2008/11/fundingstrategy.php/comment-page-1#comment-7688 Nick Fellers Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:01:18 +0000 http://www.forimpact.org/?p=986#comment-7688 @BT, Thanks for your question... It may well be that I wasn't clear on the conference call. A few points to make... 1) Building endowment from cash is a tough sell -- it's bad math. You want me to give up my money (that I might earn 10% - 20% on) so that you can put it in the bank and earn 5%. No thanks. Instead... build your endowment through planned giving. I'm alive now. I want to see my money DO SOMETHING if I'm going to give it to your org. I'll fund programs now and endowment later (when I'm six feet under). 2) The reason orgs want an endowment is for the ANNUITY. So, get me to make a $1M planned gift (that could go to the endowment). Coupled with that, ask me to give/invest $50K annually to the org. The rationale for this ask: $50K is 5% of $1M. The org gets the annuity started today while I get to hang on to the nut in case I need it. Then, you really don't care when I die. It's $50K a year either way. 3) Works the other way. If I'm giving $20K / year you could ask me to 'protect' that annual investment. Again, assuming an endowment gives your org an average return (to spend) of 5% then doing the math multiply the $20K times 20 = $400K. A planned gift - that would go to the endowment - at $400K would kick off about $20K per year. This insures that we receive that commitment to fund the impact in perpetuity. 4) On a separate note. Many orgs cannot afford to build an endowment right now. The opportunity cost of not saving lives now is not justified by creating this bank account. This is a discussion about the cost of money. Can you afford to NOT be saving XX lives, changing XX lives this year by putting $50K into an endowment? $50K into an endowment right now would give you about $2500 per year. Is that really going to have an impact? Food for thought :) @BT, Thanks for your question… It may well be that I wasn’t clear on the conference call. A few points to make…

1) Building endowment from cash is a tough sell — it’s bad math. You want me to give up my money (that I might earn 10% – 20% on) so that you can put it in the bank and earn 5%. No thanks. Instead… build your endowment through planned giving. I’m alive now. I want to see my money DO SOMETHING if I’m going to give it to your org. I’ll fund programs now and endowment later (when I’m six feet under).

2) The reason orgs want an endowment is for the ANNUITY. So, get me to make a $1M planned gift (that could go to the endowment). Coupled with that, ask me to give/invest $50K annually to the org. The rationale for this ask: $50K is 5% of $1M. The org gets the annuity started today while I get to hang on to the nut in case I need it. Then, you really don’t care when I die. It’s $50K a year either way.

3) Works the other way. If I’m giving $20K / year you could ask me to ‘protect’ that annual investment. Again, assuming an endowment gives your org an average return (to spend) of 5% then doing the math multiply the $20K times 20 = $400K. A planned gift – that would go to the endowment – at $400K would kick off about $20K per year. This insures that we receive that commitment to fund the impact in perpetuity.

4) On a separate note. Many orgs cannot afford to build an endowment right now. The opportunity cost of not saving lives now is not justified by creating this bank account. This is a discussion about the cost of money. Can you afford to NOT be saving XX lives, changing XX lives this year by putting $50K into an endowment? $50K into an endowment right now would give you about $2500 per year. Is that really going to have an impact? Food for thought :)

]]> By: Nick Fellers http://www.forimpact.org/2008/11/fundingstrategy.php/comment-page-1#comment-7523 Nick Fellers Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:00:55 +0000 http://www.forimpact.org/?p=986#comment-7523 @C., Thx. for your note your note. I wrote a (direct) <a href="http://www.forimpact.org/2008/10/tcamp.php" rel="nofollow">piece</a> for those that don't have a budget. 'Advancing the vision' is not a line item in any budget -- doesn't exist. We also have an 'online' version of the bootcamp that's now available for $195 - we designed this for organizations that are young/start-up and that could not afford to make it to tcamp. Outside of that I would say: - Continue to jump on seminars. We believe these should provide enough info to help you jump start funding and even underwrite boot camp. If they aren't, boot camp will have a limited value to your organization. - Read ANY Book on sales and thinking (big). This includes - Think and Grow Rich - Anything by Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy or Tommy Hopkins - The Magic of Thinking Big @C., Thx. for your note your note. I wrote a (direct) piece for those that don’t have a budget. ‘Advancing the vision’ is not a line item in any budget — doesn’t exist. We also have an ‘online’ version of the bootcamp that’s now available for $195 – we designed this for organizations that are young/start-up and that could not afford to make it to tcamp.

Outside of that I would say:
- Continue to jump on seminars. We believe these should provide enough info to help you jump start funding and even underwrite boot camp. If they aren’t, boot camp will have a limited value to your organization.

- Read ANY Book on sales and thinking (big). This includes
– Think and Grow Rich
– Anything by Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy or Tommy Hopkins
– The Magic of Thinking Big

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