Right now creative funding is not an option it’s a necessity. It means a change in thinking.
I give permission for my readers to make a one time copy of this and keep it where they can review it. Everytime you try to negotiate funds and come away empty handed, look down the list and evaluate your pitch or fundraising project. 9 chances out of 10 you will find you have hit at least one of the Fund Raising Fails.
I give permission for my readers to make a one time copy of this and keep it where they can review it. Everytime you try to negotiate funds and come away empty handed, look down the list and evaluate your pitch or fundraising project. 9 chances out of 10 you will find you have hit at least one of the Fund Raising Fails.
1. "If I cant raise the money I can always borrow" Get away from the notion that we must borrow to make our dreams come true. The quickest way to sink a non-profit is to barrow money. Usually because the bank expects a guarantee from an individual donor. When the non-profit fails, the bank gets the land and you still have to pay it back out of pocket. That payback money is the financial future of your horses. If you have to barrow money to keep your doors open and feed the horses that means you have probably tried to expand into your dream rescue too fast and haven't made provision for the care of the horses you have. (In a future post I will show you how to insure the care of the horses no matter what happens to the land or the funding)
2. "People will give be cause I'm a neat person, with a great personality and I have an awesome idea to save horses." Get away from the idea that if you come up with a fantastic idea people will just give you money. In years when surplus money was great people would give to anything, Now they are very careful about what they give to because of the uncertain economy.Sometimes they have to choose between feeding their families and giving to your cause. If there is high unemployment in your community even if they wanted to give you money they probably cant.
3." I have a dream about saving horses" This project isn’t about our fantasies of owning horses and doing something special that the world thinks is amazing. The project is about showing donors how we are going to help benefit the donors and solve a problem that directly affects them and then making them part of the solution.
4." The means justifies the ends when it comes to a good cause" There are ways to get what you need that do not include manipulation, stealing and credit. Using these three to build your organization will eventually give you a bad reputation and tap out your donation options and destroy your volunteer force.
5. "If its expensive its the best, we will just have to raise the money to get it" There are two rules for purchasing in business and non-profits: Never pay full price. Never pay for things you can get for free. One of the greatest pieces of advice I ever got came from the man that started me in the horse business in 1979. He told me, "you can get anything you want for the price you want to pay if you are willing to wait for it." Patience is not only a great virtue it is the way non-profits thrive.
6. Negative Talk: speech that makes it sound as if you don't believe in your project or yourself. If you are rejected it might be because you are projecting failure and speaking in defeated language, check your language and practice positive speech no matter how scared, frustrated or disappointed. Never voice your doubts in public ever. Doing so will spread seeds of doubt to your potential donors.
7. Keeping Critical people around. Do not share what you are doing with critical people, they will quietly undermine you from behind your back.
8.Prejudice against people with different political ideas than your own. Never assume that the people who disagree with your politics won’t support you. 99 times out of 100 the people who have some major issue of disagreement with you are the very ones who will be most generous with support, unless you openly criticize them. More people loose funding over criticism than any other single issue.
9."The aggravation of being around people who listen but seem to reject the project so it feels like a waste of time." If they don’t seem interested in your project its because they cant see how it improves their own life and agenda or they need an opportunity to connect with it emotionally. This is your chance to educate, develop a friendship. A genuine friendship that builds on confidence will eventually get you funding.
10. Demeaning of people who give time and goods but not money. This is one that will comeback and bite your organization if you aren't careful. People who give time and money save non-profits a ton of money every year and they are imperative to the workforce of your organization and its projects. The good- will they bring in will make or break your program. Donations of Time and goods need to be counted as important as money grants.It doesnt hurt to keep a log of volunteer activities and at the end of the year do special awards or some sort of VIP party for all involved.
11. "Miscalculating the financial resources of the communtity. "If a communty is big in land but has few in population its easy to tap out the resources. A non-profit needs to expect that in some communities that will happen very fast because of the population. A population of 600 is going to run dry a lot faster than a population of 60,000. And if that 60,000 is in a depressed area they will run out fast too. Its important to figure out the demographics of your donors before you commit to an area and location. If the property is available in one location but the demographic isn't there for donations how will your organization compensate?
12. "Too many Rescues in the same Community".The quickest way for your project to fail is to be in direct competition with already established similar organizations. Make sure your location isn’t in direct competition with an already established organization. If the organization that was there first has any sort of good reputation it will dry up your money source quick. Sometimes the opposite will happen and you will be the established organization.
13: Making new contributors feel unwelcome and like they are outsiders" You will always offend someone but the quickest way to undermine your funding base is to be unappreciative and exclusive. You must make everyone who contributes feel needed and important if at all possible. But also make them know that while their input and ideas are appreciated more time needs to be spent on the goals than on nurturing their ego. It takes tact. New people coming in all the time are going to see that you have already built a relationships with volunteers and those you have built history with through donations and experiences. They need to not only be made to feel welcome but they need to be embraced and included as part of the group.
14: "Hiding things". While it is true that some things in your organization are none of the business of the public; there are certain things with will get you in trouble with the public if try to hide them or dont address them openly. Be as transparent as possible about horse care and facilities building. Give the public frequent access and opportunity to be there and be a part of the activities. This will cut down on negative things and misunderstandings. Make sure that when money is donated to designated things that it goes there. And show them where it goes.
15: Excluding donors and volunteers from the decision making process". That is not to say that you should allow them to make all the decisions you are responsible for ,but by having an advisery committee made up of volunteers and donors it not only empowers them but it gives them an opportunity to contribute to the process. When you have advisors who know how decisions arise and why, they will often be your biggest advocate when needed.
16: "Listening to the wrong people" when dealing with good causes, you will always come across people who try to convince you that you must act now with out checking out the validity of the source, because its a life and death situation. People like this tend to cost you time and money that could be used for better purposes. They will try to convince you to use the funds set aside for up keep of current horses to save more horses, when actually they are making money for dealers. If you misappropriate funds long enough, at their urging, it can cause the demise of your organization and plans. These same people will also wittle away at your support base until they isolate you and try to take over control of everything. Any time someone comes to you like that have them go find out the details.. the whole, who, what, why and how. If you have a business plan and management plan for your organization stick to the plan and tell them that if it isn't part of the prospectus you cant do it. A lot of times they wont come back. If they are really out to destroy your work they will try to find out who your board of directors is and pick them off one by one. This is the reason one must stay in good communication with all in authority and all who donate and volunteer. Confrontation isn't pleasant but as soon as you start to have some success this type of person will show up either to get the power or because they think there is money available they can benefit from.
16: "Listening to the wrong people" when dealing with good causes, you will always come across people who try to convince you that you must act now with out checking out the validity of the source, because its a life and death situation. People like this tend to cost you time and money that could be used for better purposes. They will try to convince you to use the funds set aside for up keep of current horses to save more horses, when actually they are making money for dealers. If you misappropriate funds long enough, at their urging, it can cause the demise of your organization and plans. These same people will also wittle away at your support base until they isolate you and try to take over control of everything. Any time someone comes to you like that have them go find out the details.. the whole, who, what, why and how. If you have a business plan and management plan for your organization stick to the plan and tell them that if it isn't part of the prospectus you cant do it. A lot of times they wont come back. If they are really out to destroy your work they will try to find out who your board of directors is and pick them off one by one. This is the reason one must stay in good communication with all in authority and all who donate and volunteer. Confrontation isn't pleasant but as soon as you start to have some success this type of person will show up either to get the power or because they think there is money available they can benefit from.
There are probably a few more Fund Raising Fails that haven't been listed. I have just listed some of the black holes that can easily be rectified. However, if allowed to go on can under mind your entire project and put any horses in your care in jeopardy. For those with already established Organizations some of these might explain why your funding is less than you had hoped and you can take steps to find new sources of funding or build new relationships that will pan out later. If you don't have a business plan in place there is no time like the present to put one together and fill in all the blanks. Remember the end result we are trying to find is: No More Failed Sanctuaries and Rescues.
Next Post: Starting the Organization from the Ground up (First Steps)
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