The hidden reason nonprofits struggle to raise money

Thanks for having me.

Yeah, well, Solutions for Changemakers is really a moniker honorific to the folks who are doing the really great work in the nonprofit field. And so we know that there is limited resources and a whole complex amount of issues that the nonprofits are facing in our community. And so we really solutions for change makers is to be solutions for those people who are on those front lines making change in this world. And so to the way that I got started, so I had spent early in my career in law enforcement. And so I saw that as a very what I came to see as a very downstream kind of way. I was responding to a lot of society's ills and problems with things and a Opportunity to do an internship as I went through my undergraduate led to me discovering the nonprofit world. I did an internship and saw how upstream organizations in the nonprofit sector were going. And I realized how much good that they could have that other sectors just can't, including the government sector that I was in. And so spent a decent amount of time in the nonprofit world, saw a lot of things over the next decade while I was there, and found myself in a place where I was looking for work and a few conversations with some with a trusted friend and with another person within the worldwide organization that I had been working for had led me to start to think about doing this on my own and how much help could be had in the nonprofit sector. And after some of those conversations was really the confidence I needed to be able to do it on my own.

Yeah, so ultimately it's leadership. And so we focus on three areas that we talk about, and that is strategy, governance, and secession planning. And so governance is really what I see as that foundational piece to things. As I was in my United Way career, which was my previous employer, which is a worldwide network of very large nonprofit. I had access to seeing a significant amount of Other nonprofits that were our partner agencies and such. And I would see some of the same things over and over again that would slow some of the progress that we could make in communities. And a lot of it really did come down to that governance piece of things. And so when I found myself looking for work, it felt to me to be a little bit of a governance oversight related issue that maybe had me get a little bit more deep into some of that thinking, but but that and my experience with all of these other nonprofits really is what had me focus in that area.

Yeah, well, it depends on kind of how they're entering into it. Sometimes they know that there's some leadership-related tensions or strategic direction that is unclear. so a lot of it starts with an assessment, trying to figure out where an organization is within a life cycle and some common things that we might see within the practice. And it's as soon as we can start to have a shared language and understanding of some of the things that are happening. Maybe it's because they're going from an organization that had just started and is more grassroots and moves to a more mature governing kind of structure. There's a lot of tensions that happen in those changes. And so helping to identify where they are and some of the common things that they see helps to put organizations maybe less on a defensive and more on an understanding that these are normal things that organizations are experiencing. So that's how I start a lot of my engagements.

Well, so I think a lot of people come to a board, right? So there's no owner of a nonprofit, and it is that board of directors who oversees and ensures that a nonprofit is making the change that it says it's going to make within the community and doing the things that it needs to do. but there's just not a whole lot of support there for leaders to be able to understand what that really means. They come to the table often. with their corporate understanding or a manager hat that they bring to the table. and in the nonprofit world, there's just these nuances, such as multiple stakeholders, because there is no real owner of them, having a double bottom line in which we need to make sure that we're remaining financially responsible, but also making change within the community that we were created to do. and so to be able to translate some of that. Really great knowledge that folks have when they come to the board table, but translate it to some of the nuances that's within that nonprofit world is really where some of that magic happens in this business, is is helping to translate some of those really great intentions, but not necessarily always the best outcomes in practice for nonprofits.

Yeah, for sure. And I think that nonprofits are in a unique position. There's many who are I'm starting to experience some of the nonprofits who are taking a social stance on it because of climate change and some of these pieces. And so it's it's been something to help navigate with some of these organizations. but I would say right AI is is becoming part of business no matter what. And nonprofits are a business and I think need to consider what impact it is having with their organizations. I think The balance between trying to use it in order to communicate with donors and those kinds of pieces while staying authentic is gonna be a balance that I think many organizations are facing at this moment.

Yeah, well, so I use AI myself for sure. in order to help brainstorm. I mean, I I really do use it as that kind of like assistant or or someone to throw things at for ideas as I'm brainstorming things, research and so forth. But it does help me to create workflows and some other efficiencies as I'm working through processes, as I grow my business. I'm using more and more transcribing for processes that I've done in the past to be able to try to capture and turn that into a standard operating procedure and so forth. And so I I'm also learning to partner with folks who are really focused in the AI spaces that they are. So I am partnering with organizations that are focused on say strategy. as an AI tool or capturing minutes and other kinds of things and being able to connect my clients and so forth to some of these evolving pieces that can make their lives easier.

I don't know if I would say mostly, but I do think it comes down to that often. And so when in my career, I have a lot of experience with resource development, the fundraising piece of things. And I did start early in my career in helping organizations do that because that was a strength of mine. but there are many people who are out there to help nonprofit organizations with that. And I really started to realize that. It did come down to more of this hidden piece that was really leading to some of the symptoms, like not being able to raise enough money. And some of that came from not having the direction, which is the strategy piece of what our services are, not being able to know what it is you're really aiming for to be able to sell that or to be able to have other people invest in some of those pieces. And and often it really does come down to the nonprofit, the the governance model, leadership not understanding really what the role is, what they're asked of in the organization, what it is the chief executive needs of them. And it it isn't surprising to me that people don't know this. There really are not a ton of resources out there to help teach people these things, which is really where I see our business. being able to meet that need.

It it very much is, right? Strategy can be something that somebody knows a very specific thing is happening and they need to solve that very specific thing. that is definitely a way to approach strategy. but it might be bigger than that. And the way that I see these things being connected is that ultimately governance is that foundation, it's the leadership of the organization. and When we think about what their responsibilities are, we think about often through board source or other organizations who have captured what these responsibilities are. They're a mix of real legal responsibilities, right? Fiduciary oversight of an organization and a host of other things that are maybe not legally responsible to an organization, but something that are leading practices or expected of nonprofits, even if not codified in law. and so really it is going through some of those responsibilities which relate to ultimately setting a mission and direction for a nonprofit. And so if they're ultimately responsible for setting that mission and direction, it is that strategy that they're responsible for. That looks very different in many different nonprofits as to how involved they are. And some of that nuance is exactly what is part of this business is parsing some of those pieces. and when it comes to secession, right, if somebody changes or something happens suddenly or even over the course of time, that can change the way your strategic direction is going, how your organization is viewed by the public, funders and donors and other folks who are essential to the nonprofit. And and it goes beyond just that chief executive for secession planning, right? You have a nonprofit board that is continuously rotating in leadership. And so secession and those kinds of pieces are really important to it all.

I would just say that just know that you're not unique. I think that often as I'm speaking to clients, they think that they're in this position that nobody else is in. And so they are a little afraid to say that there's some disarray or otherwise in their leadership, but that's normal and being able to evolve and understand where your organization is going and how your leadership needs to evolve with it. is a really strong practice. and so having an outside perspective is is really a great way to go about helping to assess some of those things.

Well, so right now because of my habitat for humanity history and my husband who is my partner or I'm sorry, my United Way history and my husband who is my partner's habitat for humanity experience, we're really working within those networks on a more national basis, working with some of those state associations. and I really do see for our business a lot of Growth within some of those pieces. We're able to take some of the frameworks and concepts of some of those large federated nonprofit organizations and be able to continue to provide sharpened services to them in our areas of strategy governance and secession. And so I see a lot of growth opportunity within those networks.

It's a it's an interesting question because I had a recent post about this. I had really realized recently that I had maybe clouded or or kept back my confidence in what I'm able to do. I have a a healthy dose of imposter syndrome. but what I would tell myself is that that you got this, that it's gonna turn out great and you know what you're doing. And to be confident and that's what I would tell myself.

You know, I think like if I thought about how I got to where I am right now, I would probably boil it down to test the things that you need to if you're not quite ready yet. Right. I went into resource development, found out it really wasn't my thing outside of where I had been previously. And to find that passion, to say no to opportunities that you know you should say no to, and continue to find that niche of yours to. to focus on and sharpen that saw.

the email is a great way. hello at SF like solutions for changemakers dot org. or you can visit sfchangemakers dot org to to visit our website.

Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.