Redefine the Need, Then Raise to the Need June 27, 2008

I just had a conversation with someone after my mediocre speech at the CCSYNYS event, Money for Mission, held at Turning Stone Casino & Resort in Verona, NY.

So I planned to speak on sustainability and social responsibility (which is my thing), not specifically about fundraising. And it wasn't made entirely clear to me that it should have been about fundraising, but perhaps I just wasn't listening. So at the last minute I wrote out some notes relating more specifically to fundraising, and opened with that, and then dove into the sustainability speech.

Yawns. I caught a few bored-looking eyes and felt like I was losing the audience, so I skipped around more than I should have. Here's an old principle for me: sell what ya got. And I sort of dropped the ball on that.

Until, that is, the Q& A part--it turns out people were listening and interested, and the questions were great. Fundraising is part of sustainability. Of course. Money for Mission. The two are tied. And how you run your nonprofit is part of your sales pitch for raising money. The more your operations reflect your principles, the easier it is for people to believe you'll stay true to them and be effective with their dollars.

Sigh. So, ok. I nailed the Q&A section. But I'm going to obsess less over the presentation and work on timing, confidence, and not wearing my glasses so I can't catch the looks on people's faces.

So today's title...this was my thought after the conversation. A woman asked me how can she possibly apply sustainability to her purchasing decisions, payroll and benefits when it all costs money? My answer is twofold. First, redefine the need, then raise to the need. Redefine the need, raise to the need.

If you focus on line items, instead of on the whole, you are likely always going to find a cheaper way to run your operations. To your own peril. There's a sale at Costco--run out and buy bulk of some VOC-laden unsustainable product made in China with petrochemicals, shipped here and made available to you 15 miles from your office, which now contains some cheaply made, poison-emitting crap. Then turn around and try to raise money from a local manufacturer. See how well that works.

What I'm saying is that you should set standards--salary standards, health benefits, program standards--and goals (aim high), and then set a budget that reflects that. Then raise the money to that goal. The higher you set your sights, the more you will raise, naturally. You might fall short, sure, but you never get there if you define your goals sheepishly, or raise sheepishly, or think small and act small.

So reduce, reuse, recycle. Buy local. Don't pollute, don't support polluters. Speak out. Stay true to your cause, true to your principles.

When your practices reflect your mission, when your mission reflects specific principles, people notice. You can sell that. People will buy that. Because many, many people will share your mission. So define the need as this: we need to fund our mission to serve the following:

• our mission
• our community
• our sustainability and social responsibility (they are intertwined, interdependent), which includes
• our salaries, benefits, and healthcare
• our operating plan
• our fundraising plan
• our civic responsibilities

Redefine the need, then raise to the need.