62. 10 Greatest Opportunities for Growth in Nonprofits in 2021 (Pt. 1) - Jonathan McCoy, CFRE and Becky Endicott, CFRE
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Overview
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that self-reflection is a healthy, strategic move for all of us. We’ve been exploring this question on the podcast as we learn beside you, because we want to understand how to navigate this brave new world we find ourselves standing in. Over the next 2 weeks, we are highlighting the 10 Greatest Opportunities for Growth in Nonprofits in 2021. We hope they challenge you and your teams to dream big this year - our missions are worth it.
“I hope the community understands that these are ideals that were curated from them, and from the experts we have talked to. As we continue to grow and curate the most progressive content, we want to lean into community and include your voice at the table.”
Powerful quotes
“Things have started to bubble to the top as we heard what the movers and shakers are talking about.” -Jon
“I feel this is game changing. These will build your community and create a passionate, rabid base of fans to come alongside you.” -Becky
“We’re not here to solicit every time. We’re here to steward, to share impact, to ask questions, and to listen.” -Becky
“You need to be in a mental place to be able to step into the unknown, and be willing to learn and grow in ways that you have not had to do yet. We talked about growth mindset several weeks ago. We want that to be true of our company, and that needs to be true of you and your organization too. There are always ways to do things better.” -Jon
“Our team wants to radically disrupt how content is shared and how ideas are spread among our industry. Right now it is way too hard to figure out how to adopt the best practices and put them into action. We have a vision to bring all of it together, and we want to go with you.” -Jon
5 opportunities for growth in 2021
1. Never has organizational values and ethos been more essential to drive innovation.
We have to be so clear on our true north, and what values embody what we’re here to do, and be very open handed with how that is interpreted and played out. You can be values-based but you can deliver your mission in a lot of different ways and meet with donors in new, unique ways. The values are your north star.
Helpful Episodes:
15. How to Find and Center Your Values to Win at Work and Life - Brigette Zorn
60. 4 Fundraising Tips to Transform Your Fundraising this Year - Mallory Erickson
2. Having a solid digital presence and a band of passionate believers in that digital space.
Having your mission on a digital platform (we’re not just talking about your website), challenge yourself to think about where your donors are, and meet them where they are. Take a look at your base, see who they are, and adapt. Ask questions, invite people to connect and share their story, and automate it.
Helpful Episodes:
3. Event fundraising as we knew it is a thing of the past.
This is a space that everyone is looking for answers. We feel passionate about curating wisdom and guidance around this topic during Season 2. Stay tuned for a discussion with Lindsay Martin-Bilbrey. She has been in the event space for a long time and moved into the virtual event space prior to COVID. She shared that there won’t be a template that works for everyone moving forward. You need to start by looking at your mission. What makes you special and unique? Turn that into a memorable, emotional, and engaging experience for people to be apart of.
Helpful Episodes:
4. Everyone matters.
If you aren’t valuing your “lowest” donors’ time, attention, giving trends, to make them feel like a rockstar donor, you are missing out on an opportunity. The people that are paying attention to this will be the winners in 10 years. Stay tuned for a conversation during Season 2 with Gabe Cooper, founder of Virtuous. He is an expert and kindred spirit who focuses on building automations and building your development shops to make the many feel like the one.
Helpful Episodes:
Fun Fact:
The story behind the We Are For Good Logo: We all know the traditional fundraising pyramid. The way we have always been taught is that the most important people are at the top. Jon took the pyramid and said, “What would happen if we flipped it?”
The two pyramids side by side make the “W” in We Are For Good, and it is the basis of our company. Every donor matters. Everyone matters.
5. Syndication is Key
We are focused on working smarter not harder in the way that you communicate. We feel so passionate about this that we are developing a workshop to give you the playbook for how to do this. What if everything you knew about how you communicate with your donors, with all the complexities and channels, and we gave you a playbook to help you do this in much less time, with much less energy with transformational personalization. The whole idea is syndication. The formula is simple, but what you can accomplish is unparalleled.
Helpful Episodes:
Sneak Peek at What’s Next…
“We have a great goal of completely blowing the lid off of what professional development looks like for our sector. We want to revolutionize it in a massive way. Our goal setting mindset is that we are going to unpack that a little bit at a time. Something big is coming from us in 2021, and we think it will revolutionize how you learn and can bring your mission to more people.” -Becky
“We are really intent in 2021 to create a safe space where we will push each other to achieve bigger goals and bigger dreams, because our missions deserve that.”
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