Here is what drives me:
I turn 60 this year.
In a society and culture of youth orientation where one of the key catchphrases is “50 is the new 30,” the fact…the fact…that you are turning 60 can’t be swept under the rug no matter how many cute-ish phrases people make up. But it’s not a death sentence either. It is a reminder that the clock ticks on and we are neither at the beginning nor the middle of our lives.
There is no way I would go back to my 20s, 30s, or 40s. At this stage, we all need to take stock and decide: “What can I do with the knowledge, wisdom, and experience I possess to make the biggest impact for good?”
My answer is to help nonprofit fundraisers make the shift to a viable new fundraising business model. And I use the biological definition of viable – “able to live and grow.”
My personal priority is faith-based organizations because, frankly, most are making the biggest impact in changing people’s lives for the better.
However, having said that, there are approximately 1.2 million 501c3 nonprofit charitable corporations that are “doing a lot of good.” If faith-based organizations choose not to listen to me or others who are trying to help them regain their fundraising viability, then I will move on to those who will listen.
The 94% and the 6%.
Only 6% of all charitable nonprofit organizations raise more than $3 million dollars a year. Virtually 100% of consultants in the nonprofit support complex who help fundraisers do a better job in fundraising focus on the 6%. This has meant that the 94% of fundraising groups have struggled and basically had to Do It Themselves.
As fundraising practices and methodologies change in the Internet era, your current size and lack of scale become less important. Yes, you read that right. If your organization today struggles to raise a mere $100,000, in less than six years you could be raising $20 million. Don’t believe me? Check out http://www.charitywater.org/.
At Browne Innovation Group, beginning this year, our focus is on the 94%. Does that mean that if your organization is larger than $3 million in donations we won’t work with you? Of course not. The truth is we want to work with those groups who “aspire to be viable” and keep their missions growing well into the future. That attitude has nothing to do with the amount of donations you raise today.
Over the course of the next few blogs, I will detail the foundation of these changes and why you must shift the way you practice fundraising.
-Mike
Welcome to BIG's Blog! Please feel free to forward this post to your friends and coworkers...and email me a comment at: mike@big-db.com
