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It is a tough truth to embrace, but your mission is bigger than you or your organization. Although you have a "mission statement" that describes what you do, other organizations in your community may address the same or similar human or societal need that you address. How you meet that mission may differ, but donors don't understand why we don't work together to leverage their investments and solve community problems. The needs in our communities continue to grow, and the answer is not to create more organizations: it is to work together as powerful partners to inspire community investment. Through collaborations and informal partnerships, and by learning to speak about our larger mission and not just about our organization, we can inspire much greater community investment from a much wider constituency. Join a provocative and interactive session that guarantees to give you a new perspective on your true mission and how to engage donor-investors at all levels.
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Craigslist Foundation BootcampEmpowering Communities - 7th Annual
ConferenceSaturday, Aug 14, 2010
UC BerkeleyKay Sprinkel Grace, Presenter
August 14, 2010 – 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.
What We Are Going to CoverWhy your mission statement is probably not
all that it could be…What a mission statement can be (and should
be)The role of issues in philanthropic decisions
and what you should REALLY be “selling” in your case materials
What donor investors really want
Mission Anyone?How mission statements came to be
crumpled and convolutedWhat constitutes a REAL mission – one that is
going to attract volunteers, donors of all ages and capacity – and why we need to get over the “25 words or less” idea – we worry too much about the “statement” and meeting someone’s idea of a succinct (often lifeless) expression
Tell me yours….do they sound like these?
Defining MissionMission is why you do what you do (the human or societal need you meet). It begins with the idea: “…we exist because…”◦This inspires philanthropy: giving, asking, joining, serving – all voluntary action for the public good
Mission Statement ExampleVector Health Programs, Eureka, CA – a
medical intervention program dealing with hands
“Next to the human face, hands are our most expressive feature. We talk with them. We work with them. We play with them. We comfort and love with them. An injury to the hand affects a person professionally and personally. At Vector Health Programs, we give people back the use of their hands.”
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Another ExampleYale University School of Medicine – capital
campaign in the mid-80s
“We are in the midst of one of the most profound intellectual revolutions of all time: the revolution in the biological sciences. Its implications for combating disease and for understanding life’s processes are boundless.
Yale is in the forefront of this revolution.”6
Another ExampleFor a campaign brochure for the Science
Museum of Minnesota:
“From ancient chipped stone tools, to modern computer chips, ingenuity is the human signature. We seek to understand and mimic a world and universe in which we are newcomers, to fly with birds, to communicate at the speed of light. This scientific quest is written in things we can touch, each of them a window to the future. At the Science Museum of Minnesota, we touch the future, hands on.”
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What Mission Really IsAnother expression of your valuesThe emotional core of your issuesWhat fills donors’ hearts and connects with
the action aspect of their mindThe “core” of which Jim Collins speaksA tool for forging our message…it is NOT about you – it is about the passion
you feel for a cause in your community that can be served or solved
Philanthropy is Also Based in Vision and Values
Vision is a community builder: what you believe your community can become through your work (it is not about you)
Values are the shared beliefs we have with our donors: we have to make them evident in our marketing and outreach (values are the basis of issues) (you have these in place)
The “ROI” is based in all three: mission, vision and values
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VisionEnrolls othersCan even be measurableIt’s progress is what keeps people involved
and inspiredGreat example (short and sweet from
preschool program that worked with Head Start in New Orleans: “Our vision is that every child in the greater New Orleans area will be ready when it is time to start school.”
Expressing Values: ExampleA thank you card sent to institutional and
individual donors to a special campaign for a Stanford University library flooding emergency:
“Your gift to the Stanford University Libraries helps us assemble the sources, the arguments, the hypotheses, the wisdom and controversies of the ages. For all those here, and those yet to come, please accept our gratitude.”◦ Michael Keller, Librarian
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Philanthropy
Based in values
DevelopmentUncovers shared values
Fund Raising
Gives people opportunities to act on their values
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So, What is Your Message?Does your message talk about your organization
or about the relevant and urgent needs you are meeting?
Do you craft your messages by looking in the mirror or through the windows?
Is the core of your message the same, no matter how the packaging or audience may vary?
How compelling is your message? What are your results?
Let’s talk….
What Donors Are Looking for in Our Messages – 5 “I’s”Issues
Impact
Potential for involvement
Fresh ideas
Benefits of investment
What 8 Land Trusts DecidedIn Ohio, they were competing for the
resources of conservation-minded citizensSome dealt with rivers, some with forests,
some with farms – but it was all about the land
It took a board member advocate to say, “Why are we all doing this separately at greater cost…why don’t we just get together?”
Eventually, they did…
From Transaction to Transformation
High Impact PhilanthropyKay Sprinkel Grace, Alan Wendroff
High Impact PhilanthropyKay Sprinkel Grace, Alan Wendroff
1. You Make Your Case 2. You Tailor Your Case
3. Your Donor Investors Champion Your Case
High Impact PhilanthropyKay Sprinkel Grace, Alan
WendroffAdapted by Papilia, 2003
The fallout continuesWe need new ways to engage and retain our
donorsMission (and vision and values) = the best
way to engage
Not So Long Ago….
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Donors are Also Drawn By These Ideas
People give because you meet needs, not because you have needs
A gift to your organization is a gift through your organization into the community
Sustainability means maintaining the capacity to constantly pursue an evolving vision
Fundraising is not about money, it is about relationships based on shared values
Investment is NOT transactional, it is transformational
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A Donor Talks About Return On Philanthropic Investment“I am an investor, that’s what I do. So it is
my nature to evaluate return on investment in everything I do. With philanthropy it is no different except that I look at dividends in terms of impact on the lives of children, and where I can really make a positive difference in kids lives, I am pleased.” T. Denny Sanford, major hospital donor in South Dakota
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