What would you do with $100 million?
People talk to our team at Aperio when they know what they want: More dollars for their mission.
We then, ask: What do you want the money for?
The answers we get vary from things like giving staff raises, hiring more staff, repairing a building, buying another building, and so on.
But that’s not what we’re asking. We don’t want to know what you want to pay for. We want to know what you want to accomplish. What problem will you solve? What value will you bring to society? What conversations will you want?
What do you want the money for?
Right now, everything can feel very short-term. Sometimes, I don’t even know what I’m going to feed my son for lunch today, never mind what I am going to accomplish with my life in the next 3-5 years. If you’re nonprofit leader, you spend your days keeping the boat afloat.
But as a leader, you have an urgent responsibility to do more. To not just know your immediate budgets and program plans but to know: What do we need the money for?
Your staff wants to know. Your board wants to know. And your donors want to know.
The $100 million question
What would you do with $100 million?
This is the one question that every non-profit leader needs to be able to answer—and answer well. In a time of crisis and recession, thinking about this question may feel frivolous. It’s actually the opposite.
To be direct: If you cannot answer this question with a big, bold, and visionary answer, it is not possible to fundraise to your organization’s full potential.
To fundraise out of this time of uncertainty, you need an inspiring answer to that question. As a fundraising leader, you need to know and be able to articulate: What are we here to do, and what is it going to take to do it?
In the next couple of weeks, put some time on your calendar to write out your answers to the following questions—on your own, or even better, as a group. You may already have thought through these questions, but it’s very likely that our current, multi-faceted crisis has changed something about your answers.
What issues are you trying to address? For example, when I worked for a food rescue organization, I would have said: We are ensuring that our neighbors do not go hungry, now during a time of crisis and every day, when hunger is a persistent issue that gets overlooked.
What underlying problem are you trying to solve? Following this example, I would have said that our ultimate mission was to end hunger—address the system that leaves our neighbors vulnerable and without a safety net in the first place.
Big picture, what is the solution? Thinking beyond yourself and your organization, what is it going to take to address the immediate issues and solve the underlying problem?
What do you bring to the table? What unique value can your organization bring to that solution? What is your niche contribution? Your piece of the puzzle that only you can fulfill?
What do you need to fulfill it to your fullest potential? What areas of your work would you scale? What new work would you take on? What partnerships would you form? What audiences would you reach?
Now you’re closer: What would you do with $100 million?
The answer is not your annual plan and budget. It is a big, audacious goal.
Tell it to your staff
Nonprofit staff are unique in that they choose their jobs as much with their heart in mind as their career. They work difficult jobs with fewer resources and lower pay than their peers in the private sector. What keeps them invested, creative, and productive is a genuine belief in the vision of the organization.
What our field needs right now is visionary leaders who remind us why we do what we do and reflect back to us why our tough work matters. Your staff—in every department—need leaders who can articulate the vision—and, more importantly, do actually say it out loud often. Leaders must speak openly about the vision for the organization, and the roadmap to get there. Don’t just talk about what you are doing today. Rather, talk about why you are doing what you do.
Communicating your vision and the roadmap to staff regularly will give your team confidence to be flexible on the details. Fundraisers, program managers, all staff are spokespeople for your organization. They must understand what the vision for your organization is—and what it would take to get there. The ability of every staff member, especially front-line fundraisers, to articulate this vision will be the difference between non-profits who survive, and those that thrive.
Tell it to your board
As the leaders of your organization and your philanthropy program, the board needs to be more well-versed then any stakeholders in your big, bold vision—especially now.
Tough financial decisions and precarious fundraising may be dampening your board members’ experience. Invest time in boosting that experience as well. Talk about your vision. Showcase the impact your making toward that vision already by bringing mission experiences to board members. Keep your why front and center in every conversation.
Board members can be your best fundraisers – and because of that, they also need to be inspired and excited about the vision you have for the organization. Building board members’ confidence is just as important as building staff members’ confidence. Spend time in each board meeting articulating your vision so that your board can share it with their networks, and in turn, inspire new supporters.
While board members wear many hats – leaders, fundraisers, advocates – they are also donors. As I outline below – it is critical that all donors, even board members, feel informed about your vision and inspired by the organization’s goals.
Tell it to your donors
In a time when we are planning, thinking, and living in the short term, it can feel daunting to sit with a donor and talk about ideas for the future. Who knows what the future holds?
When you’re feeling stuck, remember: During this unique time, donors are in the same place as we are. They don’t know what the future holds—and they don’t expect us to. Donors don’t need all the details. They know that exactly how your programs get carried out will evolve with the situation. But they do need to know what you’re aiming for, what milestones we’re reaching for next, and how we will know we’re making progress.
When you ask for a gift, particularly a large philanthropic gift, you’re not asking for someone to pay your bills. You are asking someone to come on as an investor in your future. Your investors are going to look for returns in terms of progress toward your big, bold vision—not the excellent execution of your crisis contingency plan. They want to know: Whose lives are you impacting? How are you addressing issues? How are you pushing us forward in terms of solving underlying, systemic problems?
Think about it this way: Have you ever seen a wedding registry asking to pay last month’s car payment? Of course not. When we make wedding gifts, we opt for things that are new, add value, last a lifetime. That’s what makes them meaningful. Paying bills is not meaningful. Real value is meaningful. We give gifts as an investment in the happy couple’s future.
Similarly, organizations shouldn’t ask donors to pay their bills. Donors are inspired by vision, and change. They are looking to make investments to change the world. Ask your donors to invest in something to make a lasting impact!
For immediate fundraising, flip your script:
Want the money to hire a new staff person? Talk about the impact—what will additional staff capacity help you accomplish.
Need to enhance your facilities? Start with what kind of environment you’re trying to create for the people you serve and why that matters.
Need to hit your fundraising goals to survive? Talk about what past support has accomplished and how you want to build on that momentum to accomplish what’s next.
To catalyze really transformational, sustainable philanthropic support, take the time to cast your vision and write it out on paper for donors. Use our step-by-step guide as a start and contact us if you want to brainstorm further.
The bottom line: A lack of vision is holding back CEOs, boards, and other nonprofit leaders—and the missions we serve. When we don’t know what we would do with $100 million, we miss substantial opportunities to secure philanthropic investors in our work today and into the future.
We urgently need nonprofit leaders to articulate their big, bold vision and articulate the roadmap to get there. That is what motivates staff. That is what drives board engagement. That is what inspires philanthropy. That is what transforms nonprofits so that they can, in turn, transform our world.
