Nonprofit Growth: Goal Setting vs. Fear [ PART 1 ]

Are you a natural a goal-setter?

I am.

Some would say that my goal setting, corresponding spreadsheet creation, and cadence of activities to hit said goal are, well, obsessive.

(Some = my husband)

Run a half marathon when I’ve never ran around the block? ✔️check
Hit business stretch goals every year the last three years well before year-end? ✔️check
Complete my family by adopting two pre-teens we’d never met before? ✔️check
Speak 100+ times last year? ✔️check
You get the picture.

An honest moment? I wish I could say I did each one of these with ease, with no fear, or anxiety.

That would be a lie.

But, as I’ve invested in myself as a leader, entrepreneur, and business owner over the last decade, I’ve slowly embraced the fear and anxiety present in each one of these situations.

It’s a muscle I continue to flex.

I’ve learned my fear and anxiousness about change that needs to come about to reach goals is a good thing.

It’s this simple (shout out to the author, Judi Holler):

Do you have a goal?

Now, those are your boundaries.

They direct your time.

When I allow it to be that simple, then I know what to ‘say yes’ to and what to ‘say no’ to.

Then, I know what I need to STOP doing and what to START doing.

It works every time.

That’s why I teach it in my methodology, too.

You see, I have so many nonprofit CEOs who are doing amazing work. Have success, but still talk to me about how hard it is to reach their goals:

🎯 We want to scale 25% every year for the next five years.

🎯 We want to double the number of families we’re serving.

🎯 We want to replicate our model across the country.

🎯 We want to have enough money to actually do what’s in our strategic plan.

These are awesome goals. But 91% of nonprofits in America have never reached $5M in annual revenue. And what does it take to do each of those goals listed above?

Money.

And not just any money…unrestricted dollars.

Unrestricted dollars that you can flexibility invest in OVERHEAD to really grow.

Here are the steps we’ll take:

Step #1 // Set the goal (you probably already have this).

Step #2 // Determine what do you need to STOP doing (those are your boundaries).

Step #3 // START directing your time according to these boundaries.

So, now, let’s use my method on one of these examples.

Example:

GOAL: Secure enough money each year to do what’s in our Strategic Plan.

STOP doing the things that are actually KEEPING investment-level donors from giving to you.
START spending the majority of your fundraising time on the activities that ATTRACT larger donors.

STOP budgeting in a way that sabotages your revenue growth and keeps you from growing.
START teaching your team how to align their time to a true, overall Financing Plan that propels you to revenue growth.

STOP spending most of your time on siloed activities that LEAD to restricted or transactional revenue
START aligning every hour you spend on high-ROI activities help you secure 50-75% of your revenue from 30 donors.

Sounds too good to be true?

It’s not. Every day I see Nonprofit CEOs make this shift every day. I see them break free from the spin-cycle type of fundraising that’s held their team back for decades and learn what to do instead.

But first, you might have to lean into the fear. It might feel different or risky.

But it’s not.

There’s never been a more important time to equip your team with the skills and tools to make the shift. They’re probably rockstars at grant submittals, planning events, and digital appeals. But, only focusing there will cause your funding to plateau. When the entire sector is telling them those are the right things to spend all their time on, they’ll likely need someone to guide them through this shift.

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Whenever you’re ready, here are THREE things you can do next:

👣 Follow me on LinkedIn here where I share the same lessons I teach my clients about attracting larger gen-ops dollars and adding 7-figures + to their bottom line. 

🍎 Read my GUIDE! THE TRUTH ABOUT GIVE/GETS :: Top 5 Reasons Your Board’s Give/Get Is Leaving Thousands (Sometimes Millions) on the Table. See how limiting board members to the Give/Get model restricts gifts and keeps your staff from reaching their full fundraising potential. Here to get it.

📈 Work with me to scale your org's revenue by 2-5X and fund your organization’s Strategic Plan // If you’re a business-minded CEO already raising MILLIONS but need to diversify revenue and secure more general-operating dollars to invest in growth, you can apply to work with me here.