Your Services Are Great, But We’re Flat Broke

If we had a nickel for every time we heard this comment from prospective clients, we would have enough money to retire.  OK, well maybe that’s an exaggeration, but you get the picture.

Perhaps the irony of needing financial resources to support a nonprofit organization is most apparent when we’re meeting with organizations to discuss our fundraising services.  Most nonprofits usually feel pretty strapped so the suggestions we typically offer will hopefully resonate with you regardless of what your nonprofit organization does or needs.  If I’ve accomplished my goal, soon the nickels will be flowing for all of us.  We’ll see.

1. You probably already have the $ you need. Most nonprofit organizations have the ability to borrow from themselves the money you need to pay for consulting services.  Take a look at your cash flow … many nonprofits have more of a “cushion” than they realize.  Perhaps you have an operating reserve or if you’re blessed with visionary leaders – past or present – there’s an unrestricted endowment fund which you can use or at least borrow the money from, even if it means reimbursing yourselves with interest.
2. Consulting services should ultimately pay for themselves.  Fundraising is perhaps the easiest example to understand of a service that should pay for itself once you start to reap the financial benefits of the changes your organization experiences as a result of sage advice.  The same should be true of other services … organizations that learn to communicate their messages more effectively often wind up spending less $ doing it, just as those who develop stronger leadership will benefit from the human resources enabling everything else to work.
3. Find your “Angel.” Perhaps your organization is blessed with someone who is always there when you need something.  First, good for you … this means you’ve done your job of cultivating a relationship and you’re realizing a return on your investment of time by having someone to turn to when you need support.  Imagine how motivated your Angel will be to underwrite an initiative that is designed to make your organization even more self-sufficient so she/he is not the only one you can turn to when needs arise?   BTW, if you need more angels, we can help you with that, but um, it will cost you.
4. Leadership leads.  This may a time to turn to your board members and ask for a demonstration of their confidence in the organization by making one-time contributions to pay for the needed service through charitable donations.  Often there are grants available from foundations or corporations to fund start-up costs … requesting a matching grant with CIF (“cash in fist”) can make a huge difference.  If it’s a capital and/or endowment campaign that will ultimately follow the immediate expense which typically doesn’t generate new $ if it’s an assessment, your organization can “credit” these donations to their ultimate pledge for the campaign.
5. Common sense reminds all of us that “investments” are necessary for success.  Nonprofit organizations must have the courage of their convictions and realize they need to spend money to make money.

Of course all of these suggestions are “easier said than done” and not all will work for every organization all the time.  As always, I welcome your opinions, suggestions, experiences, and examples of going the distance.