youth empowerment summit day three

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

SUMMIT

NURTURING MINDS, DEVELOPING LEADERS

COMMUNICATION FOR FUNDING

WEDNESDAY TALK

STARTING A BUSINESS WITH NO MONEY

AND

COMMUNICATION FOR FUNDING

D E S I G N I N G A C O M M U N I C A T I O N S P L A N T O E N H A N C E Y O U R F U N D - R A I S I N G C A M P A I G N

Tool 1. Developing a Persuasive “Case for Support” for a Fund-Raising Campaign

Let’s break the “ho-hum” barrier. (Introduction designed to engage interest in the organization and problem/challenge).

We’re relevant within a broader context. (If appropriate, brief overview of how the problem we’re addressing may reflect a more global problem)

We’re proud of our past. (History of organization)

Please read on. (Here’s what is special about our organization. Value of our programs and services.)

Here’s a compelling challenge that deserves your attention. (We have carefully assessed the need.)

We did our homework before embarking on this campaign. (Thoroughness of initial planning and research)

We can make it work. (We have the organization and resources to accomplish our objectives.)

What’s in it for you? (Here’s your opportunity to do something heroic.)

Do it now, please! (We’re asking you to take action now, and we will make it easy for you to do so.)


Tool 2. Writing and Designing a Winning Campaign BrochureCampaign Chair’s message (A letter format can be effective.)

Mission and Vision

Overview of background and history

Programs and services

Case for support of particular project – assessment of need

Drawings, tables, and diagrams relating to the campaign

Ways to Give (cash, stock, in-kind contributions, multi-year instalments)

Roster of Campaign Chair and committee

Roster of Board of Trustees, Staff

“Named Gift Opportunities for endowment and capital campaigns; “Membership Categories” for annual fund campaigns.

Endorsements and support quotes from civic, corporate, government leaders. Typically incorporated in a graphic scheme throughout the brochure.

Acknowledgments for donated and in-kind services for campaign publications.

Please note that there is considerable flexibility in the placement of items 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. For example, the mission and vision statements and committee and board rosters might appear on the inside front or back cover. Other components might well be incorporated as attachments in a brochure pocket.


ADDENDUMBalancing Publicity And Fund-Raising Efforts

The article you have just read seeks to clarify and simplify the process non-profits could follow to publicize and communicate their fund-raising campaign plans to donors, prospective donors, leadership, other volunteers, staff, and when appropriate, to the community in general.

The article is the results of numerous experiences over the years regarding the confusion organizations have understanding marketing and communications. A recent and specific such example was related to me by an organization’s Director of Development regarding the difficulty she is having with her Board leaders and with a top-flight advertising company—the latter producing quality pro bono work, but most of that work is apparently not directly enhancing or supporting a $3 million capital fund-raising campaign in the way such efforts should. The leadership and the ad agency plan to “market” the campaign, while the development staff desires to “communicate” the campaign. Obviously, these are two starkly conflicting views.


ADDENDUMAlmost all of the time, energy, and some money given to the project is being directed to “market” a capital campaign to the entire service region of the D/D’s non-profit. Yet, it is forecast that the $3 million sought will (correctly and necessarily) come from only thirty to forty donors—and those donors will most likely give 85% to 90% percent of what will ultimately be raised, and they will represent about 10% of the total number of donors to the campaign. It would seem to make sense that these prospective major donors—the ones expected to give all or most of the money—simply need one-on-one “communication” made to them of the case for support.

Then why is most of the effort being expended to “market” the campaign to thousands upon thousands of individuals having little or no stake in the organization, rather than to “communicate” the essentials of the case for support to the small number of potential major givers?


ADDENDUMThe answer is that it is all too usual that talented and creative people possessing good intentions simply do not know where the “threshold” is between creating the best possible and practical “climate” for fund-raising, and when to have the basic mechanisms and tools in place to use to effectively solicit the very few prospects who will make or break any major gifts campaign.

And—unfortunately—it is usually far more attractive to work to produce up-front publicity, PR, and promotion programs than it is to work behind-the-scenes in the day-to-day care and feeding of a campaign: the slogging process of writing a case statement, identifying and rating major prospects, building a network of volunteers, training them, and so on.


ADDENDUMIf your organization is currently in the same position as reported above—or if it will be at a later time—perhaps the comments and suggestions I made to the D/D cited above will be of help.

All major gifts campaigns must seek to raise the most money from the fewest sources in the least amount of time. You do not “market” to them—you “communicate” to them.

That premise is followed by the development of a concise communications plan which features three key components: (1) Case for Support; (2) Campaign Brochure; (3) Publicity Schedule.

Rather than “marketing” the major gifts campaign to an organization’s broad constituency or to the community in general, such efforts should be expended to create a public awareness of the reason for the campaign, rather than of the campaign itself. If you are to “market” anything, you should market your organization’s programs and services — the ones to be installed, enhanced or improved should the campaign be successful.


ADDENDUMYou can be seriously distracted from the necessary major-giver approach and be greatly disappointed if you expect the broad community to understand such a campaign, and if you expect them to contribute to it in amounts of money which will make an impact on the sizable goal. And it becomes even worse if you “market” to an unknown (and alas), mostly uncaring or unresponsive public.

S T A R T I N G A B U S I N E S S W I T H N O M O N E Y

8 R E A S O N S W H Y Y O U D O N ' T H A V E M O N E Y

1. Living with parents

Most Ghanaians live within 25 miles of their mothers or stay with their parents. If you want to make real money, it’s time to disconnect from parents and all things familiar. It is time to move away and go where there is opportunity. You aren’t saving money by still living at your parent’s house -- you are missing opportunities.

2. Economic illiteracy

Most people are economically illiterate. People are going to college and don’t even understand basic economic terms. Economy is defined as household management or management of resources. Manage means to be in charge and succeed in surviving, especially against heavy odds. To manage your own economy means you have to create money by playing offense in the marketplace.


3. The budget blockhead mindset

Spending all of your time trying to budget money is a way to guarantee you never have money. Your daddy told you, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” wrong, it’s just a penny. Having a budget blockhead mindset means you are playing defense, not offense.

4. Politicians, government work.

This idea that a politician can save the middle class (you) has been tried, tested, promised and failed for the last 50 years. Almost every economic indicator has worsened. If politicians could save the middle class they would have already.


5. Financial apathy

People have become apathetic regarding their finances and quit looking at it. You can’t have money if you don’t pay attention to it. Admit to where you are financially and start paying attention to your money. Acting like there is no problem doesn’t make the problem go away, it makes it worse. My co-founder and I meet to discuss the topic of money every week regardless of our financial situation.

6. Entitlement issues

The unwillingness to do the jobs no one else wants is why people don’t have money. The entitlement problem is not just for the lower economic level, but hits all the way to the top. Everyone wants to be the director, CEO, the manager, the writer -- well, guess what? Someone has to do the selling.


7. Poverty comparisons

The idea that your financial situation is better off than someone that is starving does not make your financial situation any better. Those just getting by try to make sense and justify their financial situations by finding others that are worse off. That’s financial suicide.

8. Nine-to-five bitching

I work 95 hours a week and most people complain about nine-to-five schedules. If you aren’t working and thinking about how to get ahead before during and after work, you aren’t getting ahead. I have never known anyone that was financially successful that wasn’t all in all the time.

If your money situation sucks you must admit it. The first step to any makeover or recovery is to admit you have a problem and the second step is to quit blaming others, depending on others to fix it and trying to make sense of it. Confront where you are, put your attention on income, not saving, be willing to do whatever job for however long to fix your situation and make it your duty, obligation and responsibility to get your financial life in order.

Money isn’t the most important thing. It won’t make you happy. But neither of those truths makes it OK for you to not have money to take care of your family and create the life you want.

H O W T O S T A R T A B U S I N E S S W I T H N O M O N E Y

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Use current resources in new ways. Like most young companies, we encountered a cash flow crunch at Support Services. We had about 50 employees, and we wanted to protect everyone’s jobs. We looked at all of our departments and all of our employees’ skill sets to see where we could generate revenue. A few employees in the network department stepped up and offered to set up alumni in schools and in the line of helping them know Christ; they paid us for our work. Then a few in the outreach department offered to establish Ambassadors in churches and in so doing, we took hold of churches and with our ambassadors we started organising events in churches which gave us little to rise up. This got investors interested in our company, and it enabled us to have the cash we needed to get back to our core services.


. Use an Incubator. If you believe you have a solid idea and a workable business plan, you may want to consider a business incubator. Upon acceptance, these programs provide funding designed specifically to financially assist a startup company. Sometimes they offer office space or shared administrative services. Most incubation programs are sponsored by local or regional economic development organizations, and some are sponsored by colleges and universities.

Find an Accelerator. These are much like incubators in that they are designed to provide funding. However, an accelerator expects a rapid response to its investment. If you are prepared and ready to hit the market quickly, this is a great option.

Crowd fund. Crowd funding platforms are changing the face of capital, whether you’re growing a tech business, filming a movie, or selling jewelry. Kick starter and other crowd funding platforms allow the public to invest a small percentage of money in return for a future buy-in.

H O W T O G E T A B U S I N E S S F U N D E D

1. Venture capital People talk about venture capitalists as sharks—because of their supposedly predatory business practices, or sheep—because they supposedly think like a flock, all wanting the same kinds of deals

This is not the case. The venture capital business is just that—a business. The people we call venture capitalists are business people who are charged with investing other people’s money. They have a professional responsibility to reduce risk as much as possible. They should not take more risk than is absolutely necessary to produce the risk/return ratios that the sources of their capital ask of them.


Venture capital shouldn’t be thought of as a source of funding for any but a very few exceptional startup businesses. Venture capital can’t afford to invest in startups unless there is a rare combination of product opportunity, market opportunity, and proven management. A venture capital investment has to have a reasonable chance of producing a tenfold increase in business value within three years. It needs to focus on newer products and markets that can reasonably project increasing sales by huge multiples over a short period of time. It needs to work with proven managers who have dealt with successful start-ups in the past.

If you are looking for names and addresses of venture capitalists, start with the internet. The names and addresses of venture capitalists are also available in a couple of annual directories:

youth empowerment summit day three

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