I am thoroughly enjoying my team projects with Leadership Samford. Our team has been tasked with consulting with an area nonprofit. The nonprofit is almost 20 years old and is led by two dear senior adults who have made this their labor of love at no pay. As I reviewed their website, 990 and other foundation 990s, I wrote out my advice.

Here are my thoughts and conclude with recommendations about our fundraising project. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow. I am struggling exactly with who funds their projects and how they want to continue going forward long-term (they desire to continue for another 20 years).  

3 nonprofit lessons I have learned and questions I seek to answer:

1) Who is the hero of your organization’s story?

When you are giving the story of your organization, who wins? Who is the hero? Is the hero graduates of your addiction recovery program or the illiterate adult who learns to read or the mother who learns to feed her children nutritious meals? There may be many stakeholders who care and support your organization (donors, board members, staff, volunteers) but at the end of the day, name the individual(s) who are the reason your organization exists. Do you have a face or life attached to why your organization exists? Make them the preeminent focus of your marketing and your “rally cry” as an organization. Check out Donald Miller’s book, Building a Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen to learn more.

2) If your organization disappeared tomorrow, who would miss you?

If your organization went away, who would be most impacted (other than paid staff)? It can give you an indication of your impact and the difference you are making. Reach out to those stakeholders and find opportunities they can speak into your organization in ways which cause it to grow and prosper. Hearing their stories can inspire your team to keep going and not give up! Too often we miss out and fail to ask the advice of people and gain inspiration from those who deeply care about the success of our organization. They can give voice to the purpose of your existence.

3) Say in one sentence the outcome you are seeking from all of your programs and activities.

For all the work your staff and volunteers do, are you measuring the inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes for the whirlwind of services you are engaged? Where are you headed? Can you state it in a sentence? Too often I hear the reason organizations exist are broad unmeasurable objectives like to “save the world” or “have all the children sing in harmony.” How do you measure a success? How are your outcomes measured and how long does it take for a successful outcome of your program? How are you moving the “needle” to improve the lives of people impacted by your activities? If you are not measuring what you are doing, why do it?

It is incredibly commendable all this precious couple are doing for so many in need. What jumps out at me is the huge need for focus (what do they do BEST), strategic/long range planning (how to reach their 20 year future goal of sustainability by mentoring a successor or handing off parts of the ministry to others orgs/churches) and finding likeminded orgs for collaboration / multiplying the ministry. The needs in the area are great. You cannot be all things to all people. What other groups have the same goals? What funders are funding similar programs like theirs? Why do they support them? The more they focus, the more appealing they could be for funders / foundations who desire to accomplish their same aims. 

One of the challenges The Foundry Ministries faced / still faces is trying to be all things to all people. They too were led by a ministry couple (Bill and Michelle Heintz) for 25 years. They tried to be all things to all people and it exhausted them and really hurt their effectiveness. They were feeding large amounts of people daily, giving away clothes, meeting physical needs, etc. They discovered they were creating disincentives for people to improve themselves and they discovered the main issue for food insecurity and homelessness in their community was addiction (it may not be the issue in this area). They were limited in their funds. They read the book, Toxic Charity and it changed all they did. At its core, Toxic Charity is trying to address chronic ongoing issues through one-way giving. It often looks like this: people with resources give to those who lack resources. This kind of giving approaches inequity as though the core issue is that people don’t have the same amount of “stuff.” https://www.luptoncenter.org/toxic-charity-what-it-is-and-how-to-avoid-it/ 

End of the day, Bill and Michelle focused the organization with wonderful board members (many from Mountain Brook) to determine the greatest need (addiction recovery) and created ways to sustain the ministry (thrift stores, auto sales–sell donated cars). They cut their feeding of the community to 2x a week.  They turned down some ministry opportunities (cut loose the prison re-entry ministry and facility) and focused the ministry to what they determined was the core of the Bessemer community’s greatest physical need (addiction recovery) and began praying for a successor. Over a number of years of mentoring and coaching, Micah Andrews became the CEO in 2016 (he still is) after serving as number 2 to Bill Heintz for a couple years. When Micah became CEO, Bill Heintz was the #2 for a number of years afterwards. I learned a lot from their focus and strategic transition. 

Recommendations:

  1. Partner with Mission Increase for long-term planning. The services of Mission Increase are no cost to the ministry. Mission Increase is a wonderful ministry funded by very wealthy donors (many from the National Christian Foundation) who desire to make the greatest Kingdom impact through sharpening the skills of existing ministries. I was very active in it while the Chief Development Officer at The Foundry Ministries. “Mission Increase helps nonprofits increase their Kingdom impact by providing a coach, a community, and a collection of resources.” I am glad to make the contact and we can partner alongside this coach as we do our work the remaining months of Leadership Samford. https://missionincrease.org/nonprofits/.
  2. Discuss with the couple their history of foundation grants.  Here is list of foundations who would have an affinity for their work. What project would they seek to accomplish through foundation support? 
  1. What companies benefit from their services? Whose employees are they feeding and what employers are benefiting from their workers taking ESL classes? 
  2. What is one or two stories which BEST capture the product/benefit they are seeking to accomplish? Who is the “hero” of their story? 
  3. What sister organization could become a potential umbrella organization for transition planning and referrals? Jimmie Hale? Local churches? 
  4. Creating a funding structure which supports all elements of their work. “Community Excellence Fund”—focused on improving the lives of their target audience and provide measurable and attainable improvements to their immediate community to streamline funding requests. 
  5. What pipeline could be created with UAB students in this program? Regarding their ESL https://www.uab.edu/education/esl/community-english-classes