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.

“If we just had an ENDOWMENT that covered all of our operating expenses, we wouldn’t have to do that (dirty) FUNDRAISING thing anymore.”

What if, instead, you stopped worrying about ‘SUSTAINABILITY’… and started putting yourself out of business! Find SOLUTIONS to the PROBLEM, and then implement that SOLUTION to eliminate the PROBLEM.

I realize this doesn’t work for everyone reading this (education institutions, etc.) but this idea applies to everybody especially as it relates to the following: If you are willing to go one more (RADICAL) step further.

ENDOWMENT IS NOT THE GOAL

This is an issue that I believe impacts all FOR IMPACT ORGANIZATIONS. We’re caught up in an endowment arms race. We’re communicating that “We need ENDOWMENT now to build and preserve ENDOWMENT for future generations.”

Endowment, in and of itself, is NOT the goal! The goal is and always should be around Saving Lives, Changing Lives, Impacting Lives, etc.

And if that doesn’t get your attention, how about:

NO MORE CASH FOR ENDOWMENT

CASH is a very, very expensive and difficult way to increase endowment.

Very few investors want to give you their money… so you could invest it… with an average of 5% return… which would then be used to fund some important priority.

Here’s a pretty simple way to look at it: A 5% IMPACT vs. a 100% IMPACT.

Money to endowment (5%)… or money to fund people, programs, and places that help deliver your impact… now (100%).

*Plus, many of these investors are making five-year commitments/payments and have to ‘wait’ to see the results and actual use of the funds.

Note: As a serial entrepreneur and someone who works with a lot of business and social entrepreneurs, I would ask this question:

Would a great business or business model… one that is growing and scaling their IMPACT… take revenue (cash) and put it in the ‘BANK’ and then try to fund their growth… from their INTEREST INCOME?!!!

I want you to forget the current economic situation and let me remind you what every truly successful entrepreneur would do. They’d go to a bank or to angels or to the market and BORROW MONEY (not put money in) so that they can LEVERAGE every dollar… in order to GROW AND SCALE… their IMPACT… RIGHT NOW!

Yesterday, Tom was in Colorado Springs speaking to the AFP with Robbert Egger about Change. Today, I’m at AFP in NW Ohio talking about more of the same. However, I think Tom had more gumption. He put together an entire e-book on change

Change (the) Rules (DRAFT) includes all the ‘no-mores’, quotes on change and lots more vocabulary. Tom and I have both been framing our discussions around this quote from Tim Kight:

“Every Organization is Perfectly Designed to Get the Results that it’s Getting.”

Our message, this book and just about everything else we’re doing is about CHANGE, specifically the CHANGE we make to get different results…. Change RULES!

Change Your Vocabulary

If you get the whole change in thinking from ‘not-for-profit’ to ‘for-impact’ then here are several other CHANGES to help you change the way you think. More than some ‘language game’ this is really important stuff — it represents a completely different attitude!

You can also download the PDF

Check out this tool at nytimes.com. Choose one word (not six) to describe your feeling.

I wanted to share for three reasons:

1. Really cool

2. This reflects a methodology you can follow to build your message (sans technology). Ask everyone to pick 1-3 words that describe your impact. Aggregate and simplify to identify THE BIG WORDS.
3. Power of language. One, two or three words tells the story. Right?
   ]]> http://www.forimpact.org/2008/11/simple_messages_-_powered_by_group_-_powerful_visual.php/feed 0 http://www.forimpact.org/2008/10/stop_being_a_not-for-profit.php http://www.forimpact.org/2008/10/stop_being_a_not-for-profit.php#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:14:19 +0000 Nick Fellers http://www.forimpact.org/?p=843

   Stop being a not-for-profit.

   Why do we define our selves in the negative? It makes no sense. Does your organization exist to ‘not make any money’? Or, does it exist to save lives, change lives and impact lives?

   Stop defining yourself by what you’re not. Start defining yourself by what you are for: impact.

   More than a shift in language we need a different way of being.

   This shift is about attitude. It’s about your purpose (the WHY). It’s about re-thinking an entire sector (or two).

   In 1950 Earl Nightingale wrote The Strangest Secret to Success. The secret (common to many beliefs, all sectors and all definitions of success): "We become what we think about". What becomes of us when our entire thinking is about nonprofit? What if we think instead about changing the world?* What becomes?

   Then there is some great thinking from Peter Drucker who wrote, "Every organization has to prepare for the abandonment of almost everything it does." That’s powerful. We agree. A lot of ‘stuff’ needs to be abandoned**.

   Think not and be not about:		Think and be about:
   Charity, 501c3 Tin Cups, Begging Not-for-profit OR for-profit		A cool business/entrepreneur- changing the world. “Selling your Vision” For Impact!

   *The Movement: We’ve been sharing this message for the last 15 years and living it for longer than that. The past few years has given rise to an incredible conversation around this VOCABULARY and CHANGE: Social Benefit (Drayton). Social Entrepreneurs/Enterprise. Pierre Odimyer and other change agents are putting resources into ‘for-profits’ that change the world. Google.org comes out and says they will have a ‘for-profit’. It’s no longer about not-for-profit vs. for-profit. It’s about For Impact.

   **Abandonment (a start): Direct mail. Lengthy Case Statements. Feasibility Studies. "Volunteer Solicitations". Survival Pitches. Small thinking. Cultivation. Special events (that aren’t special and don’t raise money). Letters that read “We are a 501(c)3” (who cares?). Committee Reports….
   
   

   ]]> http://www.forimpact.org/2008/10/stop_being_a_not-for-profit.php/feed 5 http://www.forimpact.org/2008/10/in_defense_of_raising_money.php http://www.forimpact.org/2008/10/in_defense_of_raising_money.php#comments Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:12:48 +0000 Nick Fellers http://www.forimpact.org/?p=805 Today, Seth Godin highlighted: In Defense of Raising Money: a Manifesto for NonProfit CEOs. Authored by Sasha Dichter, Director of Business Development for Acumen.

   The manifesto is five pages long and only takes a few worthwhile minutes to read.

   Read the piece. My commentary (an attempt at adding value) is below.

    

   • “People think that asking for money is all about asking for money.” Sasha says it’s not. The resources come second. This is reinforcement that IMPACT DRIVES INCOME, not the other way around.

   • “People think that storytelling is a gift, not a skill.” I think the skill comes in understanding how to be authentic. You’ve seen a lot of “effective” story tellers and some of them stink at “telling stories” yet they are so darned passionate they’re still effective because people still see the story.

   • “Money = Power”. Nothing to say – Sasha has an AWESOME perspective on this.

   • “I’m terrified you’ll say ‘no.’” I agree with Sasha, get over it. Be more terrified someone will not be fed because you didn’t ask.

   Sasha closes with a call for a new language/vocabulary around fundraising. “If nothing else, then, we need a new word. Fundraising is about a transaction – I raise funds from you, you get nothing in return.”

   Agreed.

   I’m currently a fan of “Advancing the Vision.” And, while it may sound academic in some circles, those that ‘Advance the Vision’ can be Directors of Advancement or something similar. That’s what you do.

   ]]> http://www.forimpact.org/2008/10/in_defense_of_raising_money.php/feed 0 http://www.forimpact.org/2008/09/so_dont_be_the_money_guy.php http://www.forimpact.org/2008/09/so_dont_be_the_money_guy.php#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:04:26 +0000 Nick Fellers http://www.forimpact.org/?p=451 Is this you? Is this somebody at your org?

   “Every time I come around people turn their heads or quietly walk away because I’m the ‘money guy’”

   Well… change that. Don’t be the ‘money guy’.

   Be the ‘Advancement Guy’. Be the ‘Visionary Gal’. Be the ‘Caffeinated VP’…

   Even change your title.

   Is it about transactions [asking for money]? Or, relationships?

   Is it about income? Or, impact?

   Are you ‘the money guy’? Or, ‘the impact guy’?

   ]]> http://www.forimpact.org/2008/09/so_dont_be_the_money_guy.php/feed 0 http://www.forimpact.org/2007/04/the_return_on_investment_energ.php http://www.forimpact.org/2007/04/the_return_on_investment_energ.php#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:19:56 +0000 Tom Suddes http://eagles.net/?p=64 Here are some thoughts on this concept of RETURN... RETURN ON INVESTMENT... RETURN ON ENERGY... RETURN ON RELATIONSHIPS...

   If you've been following the For Impact MESSAGE in any way, you should be familiar with the VOCABULARY CHANGE of 'donor' and 'donation' to 'investor' and 'investment.'

   And, obviously, you would know what every INVESTOR wants from their investment: A RETURN!

   And, as a For Impact Leader or Social Entrepreneur, you know that you can DELIVER on that RETURN.

   ]]> Here are some thoughts on this concept of RETURN… RETURN ON INVESTMENT… RETURN ON ENERGY… RETURN ON RELATIONSHIPS…

   If you’ve been following the For Impact MESSAGE in any way, you should be familiar with the VOCABULARY CHANGE of ‘donor’ and ‘donation’ to ‘investor’ and ‘investment.’

   And, obviously, you would know what every INVESTOR wants from their investment: A RETURN!

   And, as a For Impact Leader or Social Entrepreneur, you know that you can DELIVER on that RETURN.

   There is another ‘RETURN’ that Nick and I use quite often that seems to really grab people’s attention: RETURN ON ENERGY.

   This particular nugget should be pretty self-explanatory. What (exactly) is your RETURN on ENERGY? (In this case, ‘ENERGY’ means both physical and mental TIME and FOCUS.) Is the end result worth the ENERGY? Are you working on your Top 3% or still expending a lot of (wasted) energy at the bottom?

   *This concept is explained and expanded wonderfully in a great book by Jim Loehr called The Power of Full Engagement.

   Loehr’s premise is very simple: It’s all about MANAGING YOUR ENERGY… NOT YOUR TIME.

   Special Note: I believe this RETURN ON ENERGY concept applies both to YOU and your INVESTORS / CHAMPIONS. (They are also expecting a return on ENERGY, not just a return on INVESTMENT.)

   As I was pulling this together, it hit me that the first return may be the RETURN ON RELATIONSHIPS. I never really heard anyone talk about it this way, but if you think about it, the RETURN on a RELATIONSHIP could be a way to talk about both RETURN ON IVNESTMENT and the RETURN ON ENERGY.

   Again, I believe this RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP applies to both YOU and your FOR IMPACT ORGANIZATION, and your STAKEHOLDERS, INVESTORS and CHAMPIONS.

   Are you actually maximizing the RETURN ON RELATIONSHIPS? Are your top prospects and potential investors clear about their RETURN ON THE RELATIONSHIP? And, finally, can you use this whole concept of ‘RETURN’… on the RELATIONSHIP… on the INVESTMENT… on ENERGY… as a way for you to get TRULY FOCUSED???

   ]]> http://www.forimpact.org/2007/04/the_return_on_investment_energ.php/feed 0 http://www.forimpact.org/2006/11/no_more_major_gift_officers.php http://www.forimpact.org/2006/11/no_more_major_gift_officers.php#comments Tue, 21 Nov 2006 11:18:32 +0000 Tom Suddes http://eagles.net/?p=44 Don’t freak out! If you ARE a Major Gift Officer … or have just HIRED a Major Gift Officer … or HAVE multiple Major Gift Officers … THAT’S GREAT!!!

   What I’m strongly urging you to do is to CHANGE THEIR TITLE!!!

   • It’s soooooo development-y and fundraise-y!
   • It’s such an insider’s word.

   We should wear a sandwich board that says “I’m a MAJOR GIFT OFFICER. I’m coming to ask you for a Major Gift. Get ready.”

   Nobody OUTSIDE your organization deals with “MAJOR GIFTS”.

   Nobody INSIDE even knows what they are.

   As always, I challenge you with the NO MORE … but offer an alternative SOLUTION.

   Change the TITLE of your “MAJOR GIFT OFFICERS” to something that includes the word RELATIONSHIP!!!

   • Could be a CRO: Chief Relationship Officer.
   • Could be a RRO: Regional Relationship Officer
   • Could be RDOR: Regional Director of Relationships
   • Could be a CRO: College Relationship Officer
   • Could be just R.O.: Relationship Officer
   ]]> http://www.forimpact.org/2006/11/no_more_major_gift_officers.php/feed 0