 
Program Relevancy to Achieve Greater Success
An Article by Terry J. Cusack – President & CEO, STELLAR Fundraising Executives, Inc.
Too often, fund-raising focuses on a specific event when it should be emphasizing the organization’s overall program. By avoiding the “event trap,” you involve more of your constituents, engage local leaders more fully and increase the return on your investment of time and resources. The ultimate result is that your organization does more good for your community.
In our work advising fundraising efforts with communities around the country, Stellar Fundraising Executives have seen firsthand the benefits of embracing a comprehensive program that emphasizes economic development, community development, or both. These findings stem from our particular approach, which includes focusing on an organization’s relevancy to its community, gaining a sense of its strengths and weaknesses, conducting confidential interviews, as well as working to understand public perception of the organization, its leadership and its programs.
A key discovery is that many organizations still maintain programs that rely too heavily on parades, festivals, or networking events such as golf tournaments, receptions or business after hours.
There are many such events throughout the country that – no matter how worthy – require enormous amounts of resources. Often, they can’t provide the financial return and stakeholder support necessary to justify them. But many organizations proceed anyway, meanwhile failing to measure the actual return on investment for their events. Factor in staff and volunteer time and the “profit” from an event actually may be a loss. Also problematic is that it is often only those who participate who perceive real value.
That can leave the rest of your constituency wondering what you are doing for them. It also can leave local business leaders uninspired and weakly committed to what they may consider to be “feel good organizations.” In our confidential interview process, business leaders often tell us they’d much rather commit their time and precious limited resources to real efforts that can grow a more prosperous community. They’re willing to invest in relevant programs that can demonstrate a return on investment. By changing the paradigm shifts, businesses start to think of their contribution as an investment with a long-term payback, and not as a limited-impact donation.
Successful organizations shed themselves of marginal events and focus instead on returning value to the communities they serve. Businesses applaud the effort, affording the organizations with much more attention than they might pay to events they value mostly for being “warm and fuzzy.”
More and more leading economic and community development organizations have responded by initiating programs of greater substance and impact. They are developing efforts that truly improve the local business climate and create more prosperous communities. What matters to your community leaders are programs they deem relevant, important and substantive enough to improve the region’s economy. When you can make that case persuasively, you can always find the leadership and funding required to implement bold new plans.
The key to tapping into this potential source of revenue and support is to align multiple programs to an overall strategy, often delivered as part of a five-year initiative.
The question most organizations ask right about now, is, “Okay, but how do I get started?”
Pull your leadership together to draft a five-year action plan that bundles your region’s most critical needs, opportunities and challenges. Identify with the urgent needs of your members and their community. Focus on tackling multiple community issues along a single mission and position your organization as the solutions provider. Review your business plan to determine if you have those elements that will inspire your leaders to take action. Then test your plan with a thorough feasibility study to gain buy-in and to measure financial and emotional support. These steps also ensure that you’re proposing the right overall strategy.
Finally, what good is a great strategy without an implementation strategy and funding? Be sure your strategy includes the staff and assistance you’ll need to implement the plan and raise the necessary funds. And, don’t forget to stay focused. As the saying goes, “plan your work and work your plan.”
What results from this process are programs of high relevance and value. These programs will gain the attention and excitement of the business community. That will provide your organization with additional leadership, financial support and an enhanced reputation as a leader in addressing the relevant issues that will build a more prosperous community.
Competition from other communities is stiff. Your community’s business leaders understand the importance of maintaining a viable community. They look to you and your organization to define a program that takes a bold, leadership position. If you don’t build a relevant initiative, you can bet that another organization will. Should that happen, your organization – and the support it is struggling to get – becomes irrelevant.
|
