SuddesGroup

April 2, 2009 | Nick Fellers

Not-for-profits: Do-gooders always looking for money

At a speech last week I did some word-association drills with a room full of nonprofit leaders, board members, funders and development officers.

First up: ‘Not-for-profit’

Word Associations: Do-gooders, charity, ‘looking for handouts’, untrustworthy, poor business, well-meaning, ‘always wanting money’.

Mind you, I was with a room full of people that classified themselves as nonprofit professionals. Someone in THAT room said ‘untrustworthy’… wow. I wasn’t looking for that one… but okay…

Obviously we’re big on words and framing – hence ‘For Impact’. This was the first time I let a room do an open-word-association on ‘not-for-profit’. I was hoping to make the point that you need a better message than, “We’re a not-for-profit.” I was hoping to illustrate that funders are largely unresponsive when they hear about untrustworthy, poor-business-running, do-gooders, always wanting money. I think that point was evident as was one more point – a new message is equally (if not more) important to those IN the third sector.

Something to think about – Be For Impact. Be about Saving Lives, Changing Lives and Impacting Lives. Be about a really cool business that’s transforming the community. Be about a movement that inspires the best and brightest to get on board.

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April 1, 2009 | Tom Suddes

Gates Foundation to Dissolve - Giving Away $38 Billion!

Bill and Melinda Gates announced today that they are absolutely blown away with the Point of View and Thought Leadership of FOR IMPACT, and want to help. They have decided to dissolve the Gates Foundation, and personally deliver $10M checks to the 380 For Impact organizations that Tom, Nick and Kerry determine are the best social entrepreneurs and most innovative For Impact organizations.

This just in: Warren Buffet has agreed to match the Gates’ commitment to For Impact organizations. $20 Million now available.

If you are interested in getting on the “short list”, simply email Tom or Nick and tell us WHY we should help pass along Bill’s, Melinda’s and Warren’s largess to your org.

***Please be sure to put today’s date (APRIL 1st) on your email.

BONUS: Tom and Nick will come in and talk with your BOARD and your TOP 3 INVESTORS… FOR FREE!

This is available to the first 33 organizations to email us and JUST ASK! (Again, please include today’s date (APRIL 1st) on your email.)

Special, Special Note: Perhaps best of all, FOR IMPACT announces FREE COACHING!

Filled with ‘35 years, 400 campaigns and billions of dollars raised’ worth of ideas, nuggets, how-to, audio and video demonstrations, etc., this is a great way to get Innovative, Inspirational, Idea-Filled stuff. Simply click your way around the site. (Today’s date is not necessary!)

Note: The first two announcements are ‘APRIL FOOLS’… designed in a fun way to grab your attention and make you look. The third announcement is not an APRIL FOOLS joke. You can take advantage for For Impact’s Coaching for free.

As Nick and I talked this morning, we actually wondered if there was $20 Million, $10 Million or even $1 Million available… how many organizations and leaders could put together a tight, one-page ‘WHY’ they should be considered for this type of investment?

All kidding aside, IF you really are looking for an innovative, creative, contrarian and non-traditional approach to bringing in a lot more money to Fund your Vision, contact us.

Yes, we do help great For Impact organizations raise large amounts of money.

Yes, we can have somebody from the For Impact team talk with your Board and staff.

Yes, we will even go out and make visits with you. (None of this is really ‘free’; but it truly doesn’t ‘cost’ anything. Your investment in making a Quantum Leap will be returned 100 to 1000-fold.)

Enjoy the rest of the day!

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March 27, 2009 | Nick Fellers

How to Be a Social Entrepreneur (updated)

A few months ago I shared Tom’s poster on ‘How to Be a Social Entrepreneur’. A few times each week I receive emails asking if it would be okay to print and share.

Yes. Please print and share. We’ve also updated the file for those of you printing out at home - should give a much more vivid/rich print.

Again - as always - design inspiration from Sami Sunchild.

Download 11X17 PDF

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March 26, 2009 | Tom Suddes

Notes from the Desert

Big birthday on the 19th. Been hiding out in Arizona reading and writing (and riding).

Here are 3 BIG (self-explanatory) IDEAS captured in these quotes.

1. “One PASSIONATE CHAMPION is worth 10 (100?) dis-passionate (dis-engaged) Board Members.”


Suddes… paraphrasing Po Bronson’s Fast Company article,
What Should I Do with My Life Now?

2. “Do one thing… and do it the best you can.”


Harry Snyder’s Motto
Founder, In-N-Out Burgers

3. “Without exception, all of my biggest mistakes occurred because I moved too slowly.”


John Chambers
(Brilliant) CEO, Cisco

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March 26, 2009 | Nick Fellers

Three (daily) self-coaching questions for fundraisers

It’s really easy to lose the day/week/month/year putting out fires… or always RESPONDING.

I’ve been encouraging development officers to self-coach through these three questions EVERY morning BEFORE email – over a good cup of coffee.

1. What can I do to bring in more money today?
2. What am I doing to advance the ball with my top 10 prospects?
3. What are my next action items to line up visits?

What can I do to bring in more money TODAY?

I (Nick) don’t care about more prospects if we’re not doing follow-up with existing and previous relationships… if we’re not closing. Adding more to a bad process does nothing. Trust me - much easier to ‘close’ that visit from three weeks ago than it is to open a new door.

Top 10 prospects…

This one’s all about the ‘self fulfilling prophecy’. Focus on your top 10 – a little bit – each day. The problem is, most people look at the number one prospect and think, “Well, that’s a long way off…” or “We don’t know them.” Then they open their email and respond to all the urgent but not important requests. This becomes a routine. Over time we never define the action steps that get us a visit with our top 10. The funds (potential and real) from those prospects can never be made up… nor can the leadership and connections.

Visits…

Visits and asks (advancing and maximizing relationships) is the lifeblood of philanthropy. If dollars-raised is a productivity measurement then this is the measurement on the way to productivity. Are you scheduling visits this week? If not, you will not have new funds to show for it in 6-8 weeks (plus or minus).

If it helps, think of these three as CLOSING. HOMERUNS. ACTION.

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March 25, 2009 | Tom Suddes

Step 3: Be Prepared to Operate at the Rate of Rapidly Accelerating Change that Every Business is Faced with - Squared

(This was taken from an article in Ode magazine and excerpt from Mission, Inc.: The Practitioner’s Guide to Social Enterprise by Kevin Lynch and Julius Walls Jr.)

The authors talk about Jeffrey Hollander, Founder and CEO of Seventh Generation, a $100M firm that is into green cleaners, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, etc.; and about his relationship with Wal-Mart. Lynch and Walls suggest that Hollander’s answer to the “WHY” (he is in business) embodies the core principle of SOCIAL ENTERPRISE:

“We are not in business to be in business. We are in business only because of our mission.”

I also believe that this Step 3 around ‘CHANGE‘ is one of my most powerful admonitions to an ENTREPRENEUR. CHANGE rules. CHANGE the rules. (There are no rules.) CHANGE or die. CHANGE to live. CHANGE creates huge opportunities. CHANGE is the only constant. Etc., etc., etc.

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March 24, 2009 | Tom Suddes

Step 2: Survive Long Enough to Get Lucky

(This was taken from an article in Ode magazine and excerpt from Mission, Inc.: The Practitioner’s Guide to Social Enterprise by Kevin Lynch and Julius Walls Jr.)

“The job of the social entrepreneur is to make sure your enterprise lives to fight another day. Do this enough days in a row, with the power of your social purpose and your commitment to changing the world and your break will come.”

Here’s a terrific thought that should help every (SOCIAL) entrepreneur: “If you take seriously the survive to get lucky mantra, then you shouldn’t presume for a moment that the (social) enterprise you are starting or running today will resemble in any way the one that is going to be creating social change five or ten years from now.”

I have seen that hundreds of times. I’ve seen it with the incredible success story of the three Notre Dame entrepreneurs (who happen to be ‘social’) with their company Better World Books. I’m watching it every week with Ben, Brian and GlobeFunder, Inc. I see it in Chris at Solutions for Change, Dan and Felicia with their Montessori School and even the social enterprise of all social enterprises, Goodwill.

The authors say to remember that you’re dealing with two variables: the needs of the world you’re seeking to change and the dynamics of the industry in which your enterprise is competing.

SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO GET LUCKY.

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March 23, 2009 | Tom Suddes

How to Run a Social Enterprise in Three (Not So) Easy Steps

This was an interesting sidebar in Ode magazines article about Social Entrepreneurism. It’s taken from a book called Mission Inc.: The Practitioner’s Guide to Social Enterprise by Kevin Lynch and Julius Walls Jr. I haven’t read it but I just ordered it.

The first of the three (love the number) not so easy steps:

Step 1: Get Better to Get Bigger to do More.

There are overwhelming statistics regarding ‘business failure’ rates. More businesses close their doors than survive, and even more stay small than make it big.

Social enterprises are no different. The authors make a great point: “Of course, social enterprises fail. Because businesses fail.”

They actually talk about the reasons being the same as for other businesses… lack of cash, lousy marketing (I would add no sales), failure to innovate, etc. They add another set of factors (zingers) that can detract from social enterprise success, including unwarranted optimism, failure to cut losses, and belief that the mission will prevail over reality. (That reality, in Covey’s words, translates into No Money. No Mission.)

Read their great stuff about the equally powerful set of factors that are not generally available to traditional businesses. (Compelling market proposition, greater than average chance of attracting great talent, etc.)

GET BETTER TO GET BIGGER TO DO MORE.

(Or in Feller’s speak: SCALE & GROW.)

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March 19, 2009 | Tom Suddes

Social Entrepreneurs: A Pleonasm

I love skimming an eclectic mix of magazines for relevant FOR IMPACT thinking. I particularly love Letters from the Editor.

This month’s (March 2009) ODE Magazine (Tagline: For Intelligent Optimists) has a particularly compelling insight from Jurriaan Kamp. Kamp’s title is APPLES & ENTREPRENEURS.

What do the terms “ORGANIC APPLES” and “SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS” have in common?

Kamp says both are pleonasms. (I had to look it up. It means unnecessary repetition.)

“What’s an apple that grows without chemicals? It’s just an apple. If any kind of apple needs a modifier, it’s that kind that isn’t grown organically. Those we should call ‘chemical apples’.”

He echoes Peters, Collins, Drucker, Suddes and Fellers with this great line: “LANGUAGE IS IMPORTANT.” (See CHANGE YOUR VOCABULARY for more on this.)

He says the current definition of ‘SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS’ is primarily concerned with the CONTRIBUTION (product or service) they make to SOCIETY.

Kamp’s huge point, and very well taken, is that ALL entrepreneurs are really SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS. As he says, “What other reason could there be to start an enterprise other than to make a useful contribution to society?”

“After all, that is – to honor Adam Smith – in our best self-interest, since nothing is more fulfilling than knowing we’re making a positive difference in someone’s life.”

From Kamp (and Suddes):

Entrepreneurs should be entrepreneurs. And apples should be apples.

P.S. I’ve taken the liberty of attaching the entire letter. It’s that good. There is also a solid contribution to this whole SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR conversation and a great article on Page 36, NEVER LET A CRISIS GO TO WASTE.

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March 19, 2009 | Tom Suddes

The Blue Sweater

Synchronicity. Karma. Serendipity.

I’m doing some work with the Goodwill Industries in Denver. They’ve become one of my “favorite” For Impact organizations for a number of reasons. They were a ’social enterprise’ 100 years before it became fashionable. They make money in their Retail Operation, and use it for incredibly impactful programs around Employment, Education and Empowerment. And, they’re all about the Power of Work.

I was skimming the online journal of McKinsey (The McKinsey Quarterly) and came across an article by Acumen Fund founder and CEO Jacqueline Novogratz. She shared some stories in what was called ’social-sector entrepreneurship’ in an excerpt from her new book, THE BLUE SWEATER.

The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World tells the story of her work as an entrepreneur in the social sector.

As she tells it, as a child in the 1970’s she had given the charity, (which anyone reading this knows is not one of my favorite words and certainly doesn’t apply to Goodwill Industries) Goodwill Industries an old, blue sweater. Then, in 1987, she was jogging through Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, and thought she saw a boy wearing it. She was right. It still had her name on the tag.
Read more

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