12 Days of Major Gift Fundraising - Day 2: Mission

Can a well-crafted mission statement be the missing link in your major gift fundraising success?

In this episode, Day 2 of our 12-day journey into the world of major gift fundraising, we break down the mission into three essential pieces. Discover how clarity of purpose eliminates confusion, allowing donors to instantly understand and connect with your cause. Learn how emotional resonance can transform a potential contributor into a loyal supporter, and see why aligning your mission with donors' passions is the secret sauce to achieving incredible results.

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Transcript

Nathan Ruby: 0:08

I know you probably didn't wake up this morning excited about getting out there and asking your donors for a major gift. I get it. It's hard work. I have something that's going to help you. I have something that's going to help you. Every two weeks, I put out a quick video packed with game-changing content for executive directors trying to learn major gifts. In these videos, you'll get expert tips and proven strategies, practical fundraising hacks, innovative ideas to engage donors, real-world case studies and solutions and, for the first time ever, exclusive access to casual Zoom hangouts with fellow executive directors and me and Tim, who are sticking their toes into the major gift work just like you. Don't miss out on this opportunity to join a community of passionate fundraisers who are committed to excellence in major gift development. Go to nonprofitleaderonline and sign up today to receive your first video newsletter and start transforming your major gift program. I'll see you there. Welcome to the Practice of Nonprofit Leadership. I'm Nathan Ruby and welcome to day two of the 12 days of major gift fundraising. Really glad that you're back for day two. I hope you enjoyed day one and learning about vision and how it applies to major gift fundraising.

Nathan Ruby: 1:49

Today, we are talking about mission, and a mission statement is a clear and compelling declaration of an organization's purpose and goals, motivations, purpose and goals. So yesterday, when we talked about vision, we said that vision gives a snapshot of a preferred future. Then mission comes around behind that and gives context. It says what are you going to do in order to achieve that vision of the future, to achieve that vision of the future? So yesterday, when we talked about vision and how it gave donors a deeper level of trust in the organization, and we talked about the train tracks and going from Chicago to New Orleans and it was only going one way and so donors understood where the organization was going. Mission is that same genre. It is that same thing where donor needs to know and understand the mission, to feel comfortable with an organization, which then ultimately can lead to a major gift. So let's break mission down into three pieces and why it's important for those donors. First is clarity of purpose, and when you have a clarity of purpose it eliminates confusion. And so a well-crafted mission statement clearly articulates what your organization does, who it serves and why it matters. And this clarity will help donors immediately understand your cause and it's important which makes it easier for them to connect with what you're doing. And again, we used the example yesterday of the city of New Orleans running between Chicago and New Orleans, and if you wanted to go to Fargo, north Dakota, well, don't get on that train, because that train's not going to Fargo, north Dakota, that train's going to New Orleans. So now that your donor knows where the organization is going and is excited about it.

Nathan Ruby: 4:03

But there's a gap, there's something missing. And that is well, okay, I know where you're going, but what do you actually do? What is your organization all about? Well, okay, the example that we used yesterday was our organization plants trees locally and our vision is to make Mayberry that's the name of our fictional town a better place to live. A better place to live, okay, well, that's kind of visionary. You probably need to do better than that. But for our sake of our discussion, we know we have this vision for making Mayberry a better place to live. Okay, great. Well, how does the organization go about making Mayberry a better place to live? That's the mission, how we go about doing that.

Nathan Ruby: 4:46

So, clarity of purpose, that's number one. Number two emotional connection. And I'm telling you, if you miss this, you again will never fully activate your major gift, program, major gift. All fundraising, but especially major gift fundraising, is emotions. You have got to connect with emotions and so within your mission, you are able to create strong. A strong mission will create emotional resonance with potential donors by highlighting the human impact of your work. So when donors can visualize and feel the difference that their contribution will make, they are way more likely to give and maintain long-term support. So in major gifts, you are going to be talking to people who already have a passion for what your organization does. So when you paint a picture of what your organization does and align your mission with the donor's desire to give, that's when the magic happens. When your donor knows where you're going as an organization, they understand how you're going to get there and that's something that they care about deeply. That's where major gifts start taking place, all right. So, first of all is clarity of purpose. Second, emotional connection. Third, measurable impact. Now, again, we talked about this yesterday and this also applies to mission today. A focused mission enables your organization to demonstrate concrete results and outcomes. This accountability is crucial for donors who want to see their contributions making a real difference, leading to increased trust and continued and larger and larger support.

Nathan Ruby: 6:38

So, going back to Mayberry from our vision from yesterday. Our vision is to make Mayberry a better place to live. Our mission is planting trees to improve the air quality of our community. Okay, so now your major donor who's excited about planting trees they wouldn't have, you know, be talking to your organization in the first place, but now you can enter into a conversation with your donor and, if they're really interested, they are going to start asking questions about your program and how you plant trees. What trees do you plant? Where do you plant them? How many a year do you do All those questions come and guess what? Because your vision and your mission are aligned and you're going down that path, you will automatically have those answers that your donor needs to have answered before they can make a gift.

Nathan Ruby: 7:30

So by having your vision and mission together and aligned, you will be able to get the excitement and passion of your donors behind what you're doing. So now that you have your donors attention, they should be saying this is your donor talking. Hey, okay, I understand this organization a bit better than I did before. I know what's going on, I know where they're going, I know how they're going to get there and you know I'm I'm kind of liking what I'm here and're going, I know how they're going to get there, and I'm kind of liking when I'm here and I'm getting excited about this organization, but I'm not there yet. So I need some more information. So give me some more, but let me make sure that what they're doing is in alignment with what I want to do.

Nathan Ruby: 8:17

And that brings us to day three, and day three is going to be organizational values and organizational pillars. So tomorrow is going to be the last day, the last day of prerequisites, and I get it. Nobody likes to do the prerequisites. We want to get into our major. We want to get into the stuff that we want to learn about. You want to get into the nitty gritty of major gift fundraising. I guarantee you that is coming right around the corner. Day four is going to start our five steps of framework for securing major gifts. It's going to be awesome, but there's just one more day of prerequisites to make sure that you've got everything that you need done to be successful to maximize your major gift fundraising. So tomorrow is going to be values and pillars and then we'll get into the five steps of securing major gifts. So we'll see you tomorrow. Five steps of securing major gifts. So we'll see you tomorrow. We're excited to be there. That's all for today, until next time.