Do you ever wonder why some nonprofit organizations (one third to be exact) routinely increase their fundraising, year after year, despite the economy … while others muddle along?
Chris Davenport, the man behind Movie Mondays, together with the Alford Consulting Group, has created an innovative new coaching and training program designed to give even the tiniest nonprofit organization the competitive edge in today’s environment.
I sat down with Chris to learn more about this new program, what it will do for your organization and what the “Mission Achievable” difference is.
Q. Chris, I know that you’ve been working on Mission Achievable for quite some time. What were your goals in creating this program?
As I’ve crossed the country, interviewing fundraising experts, development directors and executive directors I’ve met so many talented individuals and learned so much about the challenges facing nonprofit organizations today.
Every single day we’re bombarded with the latest statistics on declining donations and everyone’s got the “woe is me” mindset. Yet, I always wondered what the organizations who were doing well and growing – despite the current economy – were doing that other organizations weren’t.
When I met Tom Mesaros, President and CEO of the Alford Group I was impressed with what his firm was doing. They took one organization from less than $300,000 a year to $1.3 million in 18 months. That’s pretty impressive! We started talking about what we could do together to help struggling nonprofits succeed, in a way that would be focused, affordable and, most of all, easily implemented.
Q. What, exactly is the “tension triangle” that Tom mentions in one of your videos, and how is Mission Achievable different in its approach?
A. Well, Tom has found that even though the Board, the ED and the DD are all working toward fulfilling the mission of your organization, oftentimes they simply aren’t on the same page. Communication between the three is crucial. That’s why Mission Achievable features three separate packets, one for the Board, one for the Executive Director and one for the Development Director. Every packet has different tools – but every packet is designed to eliminate the tension triangle and bring everyone together.
Q. Module 5 and 6 cover major gifts. This is an area that a lot of the smaller nonprofits don’t even touch on – and I feel that they’re really missing the boat. Do you believe that even the smallest grassroots organization can start a major gifts program?
A. Absolutely!
Even organizations that think that they don’t have enough donors to start a major gifts program can start an effective major gifts program. Even organizations with a one-person development department can implement this. Mission Achievable shows you how.
Q. I’m blown away by how comprehensive this program is. It seems like it would really take a whole team of consultants to be able to address all of the issues covered in Mission Achievable. A communications consultant. A major gifts consultant. A board governance expert. An individual giving manager. A strategic planning firm. A social media manager.
A. That really is the beauty of Mission Achievable and why I feel it’s different than any other coaching program out there. A single individual would have to be Superman to address every aspect of running and funding a successful nonprofit organization. With Mission Achievable it’s like having a whole army of consultants at your beck and call, answering your questions and focusing every member of your team on the end goal: fully funding your mission.
At the risk of sounding like a commercial message, this blows every other program I’ve seen out of the water and just may be the single most productive thing your organization can do this year!
Do yourself a favor and check it out here.
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I can’t wait to meet with you personally.
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