Ask Allison
The Ask Allison Podcast with Allison McElroy brings nonprofit pros together for real talk, big laughs, and aha moments! Through honest conversations, shared stories, and fresh takes on trends and best practices, Allison keeps it fun, encouraging, and full of heart.
Allison McElroy is a bubbly encourager, nonprofit strategist, and proud Arkansan who loves helping people reach big goals. Founder of The McElroy Group, she mixes heart, humor, and hard-won experience to lift others up. Fundraiser, singer, speaker, cheerleader—when in doubt, just Ask Allison!
Ask Allison
Ep. 7 - Mission Possible: Solving Your Board Problems with Linda Phillips
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Board member disengagement is a silent profit leak that keeps most nonprofits playing small. Many executive directors feel like they are pulling teeth just to get a board member to share a post or make an introduction, but the reality is that most members are simply intimidated by the "F" word: fundraising. If your board views their role as a monthly meeting rather than a mission-driven partnership, you are missing out on the organic growth that only peer-to-peer influence can provide. In this episode, I sit down with my long-time friend, mentor, and thirty-year fundraising veteran Linda Phillips to discuss how to move past the fear of the "ask."
We get into the tactical reality of turning a passive board into a group of high-performing connectors. We sit down to discuss the "spoon-feeding" method for social media, why a clear job description is the foundation of engagement, and how "mission moments" can arm your members with the stories they need to be effective ambassadors. Linda shares her "secret sauce" for identifying natural connectors and explains why a simple cup of coffee or a "porch party" is often more effective than a high-cost gala. We also dive into the technical necessity of 100% board participation for grant applications and building donor trust.
The unglamorous truth is that fundraising isn't about being a slick salesperson; it's about the grit of consistent relationship-building and the willingness to be authentic. You’ll walk away with a practical system for arming your board with "Monday Mission Moments" and a specific strategy for asking for just one introduction per month. We break down the myth that hosting events must be elaborate, proving that vulnerability and passion are your most valuable assets when inviting people into your organization's world.
If you care about nonprofit sustainability, effective board management, and lowering the cost of donor acquisition, you’ll get a lot from this conversation. Please subscribe to the Ask Allison podcast and share this episode with a board member or executive director who needs a "fundraising therapy" session today.
Welcome And Board Engagement Goals
SPEAKER_00Welcome back to the Ask Allison podcast. I'm Allison McElroy, a certified fundraising executive located in Northwest Arkansas. I love helping people reach big goals with my version of strong encouragement. I try to mix my heart, humor, and my experience to lift people up. That's all I want to do, is just make you feel better. So it's like fundraising therapy. Thank you for joining me today. I have with me one of my very best friends for a million years, Linda Phillips, who has taught me most everything I know. And we've just been in the trenches for going on 30 years, I think now. I really think if I'm if we put pen to paper, I think so.
SPEAKER_01Or if we want to admit it.
SPEAKER_00If we want to admit it, yes. We were both five when we started fundraising. Um, but today we're gonna talk about the thing. It's one of my favorite topics because um it's about board members and board engagement and how they can make a real impact. Um, and so I brought Linda because she's worked with lots of boards and she's gonna tell us a little bit about her career path. I want her to tell us uh about you know, about herself, but also she just knows this is something she's very gifted in, and she'll just we're gonna have solutions and tidbits and help so that you know how to get your board more engaged or to help them feel less stress about fundraising because it's really not as hard as they make it seem. But we'll get to that. Anyway, Linda, over a 30-year fundraising veteran. Uh, most of that time she's been my friend and uh one of my mentors and just somebody that I can always talk to. Um, so tell us about yourself and tell us about your career path and um just get us
Linda’s Fundraising Journey And Lessons
SPEAKER_00started. Tell us about you.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm so excited to be here. Um, thank you, Allison, for having me. I I think like several that are in the nonprofit industry, I don't know that you um aspired as a kid to grow up and be a fundraiser. I think we all found our passion um somewhere down the road. And that happened with me as well. So I started in a support role in healthcare and then um working for a local hospital that merged and became not-for-profit anymore. Um, so I made a switch to my first real fundraising job in healthcare, and then went on to a the children's shelter, which is a local agency here. Um, also took a little bit of time and worked in the food and security arena, and then went back to the children's shelter, which obviously is a passion of mine, and then um retired. Well, until Allison called.
SPEAKER_00Yes. I'm magic. I had magic up my sleeve. But I was gonna say, was that Bates? That yes. So, and we go so far back, but you know, y'all, y'all have heard me talk about the mentor our board had when they decided to go out on the limb as a small human services agency to hire a fundraiser. And they had a mentor, and he used to be at Bates Health Foundation, and it was Jeff Hutton. And so Jeff is the, I mean, I was as green as a cucumber, and he literally was saying everything I needed to do. But the beauty of it was he was telling the board all those things, and it was new to everybody because at that time, hospitals and universities were the only ones that had development departments. So the board was like shell-shocked because they were just like, You're we don't have any money, and you're saying we're supposed to hire a person. How are we gonna pay for them? Right. But he gave them all the breadcrumbs to lead the path. And I just happened to be the one that got that job, but he was my mentor for the first uh year or two years with our experience, yes. And and just gave me those tools and things. And of course, I didn't know what any of it meant. But that was he was with the Bates, those foundation before they sold and all that changed. But and then when I met you, you were already at Mercy, a foundation. Yes. When I guess it was still called St. Mary's Hospital Foundation at that time. But anyway, um, and yeah, she said she retired and she is retired, but um, Allison me needed her to help on a project or two. And so I said, could you just be semi-retired and be a senior consultant on the at the McElroy group and help me with some projects? And she said yes. So we've gotten to work together on a couple of things and it's which has been great. It's been a blast. It has been so fun. Like, kind of like back in the day, only more fun now because we're on the bar. And we know what we're doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So she is a trusted colleague and expert, and she is good for therapy. I bet a bunch of you listening right now have already had therapy sessions with Linda. Probably some wine was involved. But um anyway, she's here today to help us all. And um, she's also doing something on the side right now uh with clothes. And I'm addicted to the brand, and it's cabbie. She's a cabbie stylist. And um, so we talk about uh wardrobes and closets quite a bit, and she's just got the eye for matching and putting together outfits with what you already have in your closet, and then taking the cabbie pieces and figuring out which pieces you need that would really uh upgrade your closet and make you not feel bored with it anymore. So there's a little plug for the cabbie because we're addicted to it. We could have probably four hours of discussion about cabbie. And those of you that are friends with us have already heard that. So we won't we won't spend a ton of time on cabbie today, but just know that is something that we love to discuss. Cabbie, look it up, look up Linda for that. Um, so why today even matters?
Why Fundraising Scares Board Members
SPEAKER_00Why I want to talk about board engagement. I've had this little a session I do called Five Easy Ways to be a Rockstar Board Member. And we're gonna kind of touch on those things, but Linda's gonna have some extras just from being in the trenches uh and working with so many different boards. But why do we like why do you think it is we struggle with board engagement? I I can, I will say the first thing is I think board members really do not like fundraising or they are very intimidated by it. There's only few and far between. And and a lot of times they'll join the board and say, I'll do anything you need, but I won't ask people for money. Right. It's like a for the development officer, it's like a big knife just shoved right into our hearts because we need them to embrace that and help with it. But why do you think they struggle with board engagement?
SPEAKER_01Like our I think it's I don't know that there has ever been a true job description or a how-to be a board member. I think we're very lucky that the chamber has started that program for that very reason.
SPEAKER_00The Rogers Little Chamber does have a board development class that you could take. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I think serving on a corporate board is you do have a job description. You know what your purpose is and why you're there. But from a nonprofit um board guidance, they're different. Some of them really want involved board members, some want um them to help with strategy running the day-to-day, and some want advisory capacity. Um, but I think honestly, onboarding and a really clear job description of what that organization or nonprofit expects of their board can make or break that relationship moving forward and how successful the board member is. And I think I don't know how empowered some feel when they're being asked to serve to say, well, I need to see a job description, what's involved in it? So I think that's a big one.
SPEAKER_00Um, and we both, from our time in fundraising, we both have examples of old board member job descriptions. Yeah. So you can always email askallison at ask at allisonmacklroy.org. Um, once again, that's askalison at allisonmacroy.org. You can email me and I will send you samples of job descriptions and then you can take those and make them your own. Right. Like, you know, make it fit your organization. But there are tons out there. You could probably Google search, but but to have those in place when a board member joins is huge because it says right there in the get, you know, in the beginning, this is what we expect of our board members. Right. And there's examples of things in those, but like one of them might be to attend events to help us increase awareness, uh, to share our social media posts, to sponsor at least one event a year, or to sponsor, you know, tell us an amount you're gonna give for the whole year, and you can divide it up between all the initiatives, or you can just make an annual gift and say unrestricted use however. But each board member needs to make a commitment and it all of that's spelled out. And so that always does help. I think so. Knowing upfront what the engagement expectation is. And I think the fundraising part being one of the common fears of a board member or a common uncomfortableness. Um, I think I've always heard, you know, I don't, I don't feel like I'm supposed to give my all my information, friends' information to this organization. And that's not really what we're asking them to do, which we'll we'll get to that probably a little bit more in in a little bit. But um we would never send a board member out to ask for a gift.
SPEAKER_01Unprepared.
SPEAKER_00Unprepared or without us there with them. Right. Basically, they're like the they're the the person that makes the connection. And that's what we need so much. And and a lot of them, that's when that's what we say when they say, I don't know what I would say. I don't know the details. Right. And that's what we would say. Well, you don't have to know all the details. We just need to know that you might would bring somebody for a tour, right. Or bring somebody to an event, and then we can do all that. So it's not just asking people for money. And that's the main thing that I like to say when I'm talking to a board. There's so many things that seem, I think, that board members think are insignificant, right? That are huge, that we definitely need them to do, but they don't see how that helps. And I hope we can make a difference, right? Yeah, we can show, but it's not just asking for money, right? It's really more about relationships and visibility and connecting us to more people. And another thing that I have to uh remember for myself is I I came out into this world wanting to connect people and visit with people and meet people. I think you're the same. There are a lot of people out there that doesn't come that easy for. Right. So they don't, they don't necessarily know, like to me, that comes easy. And I've seen you do it a million times. We will be sitting at Rotary, meet a new person, and next thing I know, I hear Linda telling them about the children's shelter, which is now ever hope, never hope, or the food bank, or I will hear her say, oh, you know, who you need to check with is um a single parent scholarship fund or um clothed with compassion, or the the Rogers Public Schools have a dignity closet for the whole district. Like I hear her making those connections and you're not on those boards. Um you're not even being asked to do it, but it's just what comes naturally to Linda. Like she just does that. And I hear myself doing it all the time. You know, oh, have you checked out, you know, the such and such podcast? I just listened to it. It's anything that you're passionate about, sharing it is a huge, huge part of it.
SPEAKER_01And I think that is when we as nonprofit um employees or other board members looking and finding the person that's already passionate about the organization that instead of looking for a we need another board member to fill a spot on our board, I think Allison would be a great j person, but you have no connection to that mission. You could be a great board member, but I think you're gonna be an engaged and more powerful board member if you have some connection to that mission, and then that sharing comes more naturally.
SPEAKER_00Because you're already passionate about it. And once you learn a little bit, because it is you're it's something you're interested in and want to come passionate about and passionate about, you're able to talk about it easier. Yes, than just we need so-and-so because they work at Coca-Cola or whatever. So um, you're you're absolutely right. If we can find the people that are passionate, it's much easier for them.
SPEAKER_01It makes them a better board member and a more engaged and more successful for the organization, as opposed to someone who comes to meetings and fills a spot.
SPEAKER_00And we might have answered this question. Yeah. What do you see most often when you when you're looking at people that are getting on boards or they're struggling with um struggling with board engagement? What what are the things you see most often is that struggle or do have we covered much? I think so. Yeah. Yeah.
Social Media Advocacy That Costs Nothing
SPEAKER_00Um one of the easiest ways, and I I've touched on a little bit, is showing up on social media. And this is the one when I am talking to board members, this is the one that I think they just have this blank look at me. They're they're looking at me like, really? Like, I don't think they get the power of the influence, of the influence and the algorithm that if they just comment or like or share or in just engage with the page of the organization, how what that does for the organization's numbers. Right. It's not about like I always say it doesn't mean that all of a sudden they're gonna, you know, raise $5,000 that Wednesday because you shared it. But the algorithm is so strong and so set that the only way to break out of it without paying for ads is when it naturally is shared and naturally is when you comment and and you get engagement from people on your feed.
SPEAKER_01One of the easiest ways for that board member to share their passion for the organization. They don't technically have to say anything. They have to hit a like button or share. You don't have to add a comment. If you do, that would be fabulous.
SPEAKER_00Like if you do, it just makes take takes it a step further if you explain why you're on the board and why you're passionate about the mission. But you really, you don't have to do that. Literally, just share with no words or share and say, um, I thought I wanted my friends to see this because I'm on the board. Like it can be as simple as possible, but um, it expands the reach without spending any money for the organization. It's a it is a definite help to us and organizations when you share, like, or comment. Slap it on your story. It's really easy to do all those things.
SPEAKER_01And I think it's we live and breathe when you're working at that organization. You're in it every day, you hear the success stories, and we just assume everybody knows that Allison is a board member at this organization. They don't live and breathe it every day. So there are a thousand people out there that had no idea you as a board member are engaged with this organization. This most simple way is to just share it on social media. And then three other people are gonna say, Oh my gosh, I had no idea.
SPEAKER_00We've been to that gala before, or we've played in that golf tournament, or I didn't even know that you were connected. If I had known, I would have gone to the thing or made a donation. Um, some of the most powerful social media things I've seen have been people explaining why they're on the board. And sometimes it's very personal. And you don't, like we're saying, you don't have to be super personal, but my gosh, the ones that share why and maybe their history and they share that. And some of them are prominent people in in our area. And it just it elevates that whole the whole mission to a whole new level.
SPEAKER_01And it doesn't have to be personal, but there's I've seen a few where they've shared, I've seen firsthand the impact this mission has and what it can do for instance at the children's shelter, and they get they know the story of that child and how the the shelter ever hope made a difference in that child's life. And maybe they don't have a history of domestic anything in their um past, but sharing the actual connection to the mission and why it's meaningful to them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, we we're all moved when a celebrity says, I was uh I was part of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and I had a big, and they did, and lots of athletes, I think, have said that. And we're saying, no, we're not all, you know, Denzel Washington or Michael Jordan or anybody famous, you know, but all of those stories go such a longer way when you just share your personal experience. Right. Um and and I've I uh I feel like we our board members tend to think, well, nobody wants to hear from me. Right. But they totally do more than you even know. Your friends want to know what you support because if they love you, they want to support what you support. Right. And they what means a lot to you. So um it like it builds awareness and credibility. And then I want to say, I we've probably said it again, but like, what have you seen happen when boards do this consistently when they share the page and make a comment or invite friends for a tour, but mostly social media. How have you seen it take off better when a board member actually does this consistently?
SPEAKER_01I think um the key is like we were saying, it has to be genuine in whatever that is to you that you want to say, this is why I'm engaged with this organization. Um it gets uh others curious. Maybe they didn't even know the organization existed, and that's a huge win. Um but I think building uh community awareness is probably the biggest impact that I've seen. Um and it builds a network of potential committee members or board members um that that want to get involved with the organization.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um and I think encouraging, it encourages others. Maybe it's not children from a domestic situation that you're passionate about. But if I know that you're serving on a board and I'm thinking, I'm really passionate about homeless or food insecurity, I'm gonna reach out and see if there's something I can do with the food bank or I can do it Seven Hills.
SPEAKER_00I mean, there's I I've had several people say to me, you know, I was really curious about uh food insecurity or the food bank. But and I looked on there and I didn't know any board members. And so, you know, I said, Oh, I know somebody there, my friend Dana. And then, you know, you just connect the dots. Right. Um, but they do people do seek it out to get more information if there's somebody they know on there there. So they need to know. They need to know that you're you need to share it. Right. So share your passion, talk about why why you serve, keep it simple but real and genuine, um, more authentic. It removes that pressure of worrying about, you know, people don't care what I'm doing on social media. But um, I will say this too. It also helps it, it not only helps that that post show up in your connections, your network's. Feed, but it also helps your organization show up in your feed more. And I did not catch on to that until I had left Open Avenues. And I, the board kept saying, We're not seeing your posts. I could not get one. No one was sharing and liking. And I was saying, you know, go to the page and share. And then after I had been gone about two weeks, it wasn't long at all. I realized that I just assumed that they weren't posting anymore. And I immediately went to the page and there were all these posts and great things that I would have liked and shared and commented on. And I figured out that we have to instigate it. So if you're not visiting, you have to physically search for your organization that you're a board member for. You have to go to their page, right? Like, comment, and share. And the more you do that, the more it'll just show up in your feed. Right. And then it'll show up in all your friends' feeds. And that's what we need. That's the golden ticket right there.
SPEAKER_01And I think from a development professional, maybe you don't have a marketing or a PR or some any of that. But I think in order for that to be successful, and if it's new to your organization, they are asking your board to do it, write a post for them. Yes. Give it to them, give it to every board, make that part of the board meeting. Here's every, I'm gonna send everybody their post for the month, and you're going to organically make that feed happen for them. But they're also professionals and they are busy. And so if you can make it as easy as you can for them, and maybe it's about an event coming up, it you all different clever ways that you can create something for them and make it easy for them.
SPEAKER_00I have sent many an email that said, here is a sample, sample thing that you, you know, you can copy and paste into a post. Please do not post this if it's not worded how you would word it. Right. Word it like you would say it, but here's you know, here's some of the facts you were talking about. Because this is exactly how to help people with when they say, I don't even know what to say. Right. This is how we help them, especially if their schedule is crazy and they're they're barely even posting on their page, like their personal stuff. Go ahead and send them a graphic, uh, you know, the latest photo that's been approved or graphic about the event. Send them some blurbs to say and copy and paste. Um, I even say, and after social media, here's a sample email if you'd like to send this to some friends through email. And then here's a sample if you'd like to text some people. Right. Like just spell it, spoon feed it all to your board members and board members, ask for it because I think most of the development officers would love to give you tips on what to say and how to share and all that. Right. Um, and and all of this just helps with that awkwardness of not knowing really what to say. Um, I always forget to and remind people, checking in. When you get to the organization for board meeting, check in on something, whether it's LinkedIn or um, you know, Facebook, Instagram, or just a story of you by the front door with the sign or the logo, do something like showing up for board meeting today, because once again, that is coming from you, your page, which is way more authentic. And then you're tagging the organization. So that's another easy thing that if it's board meeting time, someone needs to snap a photo and say, you know, we just had board meeting and we just heard the best success story, and then just tell the story on your page. It's it goes such a long way. So anyway, oh, and now we're going to take a quick break for a sponsor. Hey, you, you there. If you are enjoying the Ask Allison podcast, you might want to become a founding sponsor. I mean, your message to all the listeners could be happening right now. Like I'm saying the words right now. I have flexible payment plans and I have listeners wanting to hear all about your organization, your products, your events, and your podcasts. Join me as a sponsor. It will be so worth it. And if you're not interested in being a sponsor, my goodness, go and share. Share the podcast with your network so other people can get the therapy. Okay, now we're back to um let me shuffle my pages some more. It makes me feel important. So the other thing in your posts is to remember to call the call to action. Reach out, visit our website, visit our Facebook page, all of those things, and then uh PS go and make sure your website says all the right things. That uh I just thought of that. It tends to be one of my downfalls. Saying go to the website and then not having everything there. But um, that's one of those things.
Tours That Turn Curiosity Into Support
SPEAKER_00But um, the the third thing that board members can do is invite someone into the mission. Um, we have a lot of great organizations here. Oh my god. We've talked about Everhope, we've talked about the food bank, we've talked about, we could definitely talk about a CSC or a CAC. Um there are so many wonderful organizations that if we could just bring people for a tour, right? Oh my goodness, they could see firsthand what's happening and and understand what's going on. And our board members are the best way for that to happen because um a development officer is always out there trying to make the connection, thinking ahead who would be good to bring a tour, who knows so-and-so, because I really want them to see the center. Um, we're doing that 24-7. Right before we go to sleep, we've thought about who we ran into today and should we follow up tomorrow or should we wait a day? Like that is how we live. And our board members, we need you to, you don't have to be as 100% on as we are, but we need you to think: who could I bring for a tour? Who could I invite to the gala? Who could I invite to the open house? Who would care about uh making a donation for Northwest Arkansas gifts? Who could I share it all with? Um there are just ways to invite people in. And one of the best ways is to invite people to meet the ED and the development director, just so they get some FaceTime with a new potential prospect or person that might be passionate. Right. Um, you can you can do Zoom options, and I mean, in this day and age, there's no excuse because we can have all kinds of meetings in person, not in person. Right. Whatever. Um, and mostly it's seeing is believing. Like once they come in the door, and that's what always happened at open avenues. And I think that's why Linda, like we could, when we would go away to a conference, we could really hammer out how to help open avenues. And she's the one that helped me come up with sponsor a ride because we we knew that it was such a great program, still is one of the greatest programs. And we just didn't have the traction like the other organizations had, because everything was happy there. Right. There was nobody that was gonna, you know, miss a dinner because they were, you know, at open avenues or that it was it was such a success and wonderful, warm, fuzzy story, our whole organization there. And but we couldn't figure out how to connect with just a a regular person on the street. And we came up with, well, how are these people getting to work? How are they able to get there? Well, it's the bus ride. Well, what's the biggest expense? Transportation. So we came up with sponsor a ride. And to this day, it's still a great program to help.
SPEAKER_01In the difference, if they didn't get to come to work that day.
SPEAKER_00Right. Right. Yes. Because it because if they couldn't come to work, or open avenues is an organization that um employs uh people with different abilities, uh, adults, you know, after they're out of the the the child phase and and gives them work center training, job opportunities, job coaching, life skill, life skills training. That is what they do. And so a lot of uh the participants in that program are grown adults that cannot live on their own or they don't have a car and they don't have the ability to drive. And so we need they needed a bus to get to work, but we needed people to know that these families that were still raising their adult children needed assistance for them to feel a part of society and learn a trade or learn and so sponsor arrive became a huge hit. And it was all because we tried to think what can what will resonate with a regular person on the street as to what we do because um it was a great program. So she helped me with that one night. I think we stayed up late and hammered that out. And it was just, it was a way to write a letter to open the door to show people what we did. But then we also, it was a great, it's a great place to tour. Right. Because it shows you could see the look on people's faces when they would come in of, oh my goodness, I'd never thought of this before. I never thought about Billy and Bobby and Johnny when we all graduated. They didn't get to just go move out into their own apartment. Right. They, their parents had to figure out where they were gonna go. Open Avenues was a great organization for that. And it was just really bringing people in. And I know you've had so many tours, like what makes a great visit? When we get somebody to come in and a board, you know, the I mean, the best thing right there is the board member says, I'm bringing somebody by for a tour. Right. You also you all of a sudden move to rock star status when you do that. Yeah. For sure.
SPEAKER_01And I think if I think about some of the best tours, we met them at the door, the board member, you know, thanked them for coming, and you start sharing what all of the aspects of your mission and how it has a positive impact. And next thing you know, the board members taking over, giving the tour because they're so fired up for their friends to see the success that's happening in inside these walls. Um and it it was, I think it took me a minute because I was like, hey, you're hijacking my tour. But then when you but you think about it and you're like, oh my gosh, I've never seen them so excited about sharing. They're animated. Yes. And that happened a couple of different times, and those people that were on the tour became very engaged with the organization. Um, a couple of them became committee members and just it was so exciting. And I think it was the connection for the board member to see the value and the impact that they bring when all they're doing is sharing why they are involved and what they get excited about and what makes them come back board meeting after board meeting after board meeting is because they get to see the difference it's making. So that I think, and if you're building any kind of group or society or club, that's the other thing that board members, I think, don't realize the value they bring because we all don't run in the same social networks, we all don't work at the same companies. Um, and as board members, they have a group of people who maybe have never heard of your organization. And so that I think asking for a tour or coming um to hear more about it. And I love making the introduction to the um development staff or the if there is a staff or there's just one, the development director. Um you're basically saying here's the staff person, and you're giving them permission to engage or not to engage, and you don't have to follow up or do any more from there. So that's nice too, I think, for the board member to say, here, I'm making the connection. They're gonna give you all the information you need and the ways you can get involved. And I'm gonna go think about who's the next person I'm gonna introduce this down to. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And, you know, you and I had heard that lady, uh, and I've brought her up so many times on this podcast. So just bear with me. But you might need a reminder too. But that Terry Axelrod that taught that Benavon method, yeah, you and I both tried it at different times. Uh-huh. And I think if you can truly stick with her, her circle or her her, I always wanted to call it the uh highway to, you know, success or something, because it was just a constant loop that you kept doing it. But the thing that she had at the end of the tour, she had these little cards you could fill out. And um, my favorite part was if you got somebody in on the tour that said they really just wanted to save um the dolphins, or they were really more about pets and humane societies and that they weren't really into your thing. Right. That her whole thing was that's okay. Bless and release them. But before you let them go, say, do you know three or five other people that would want to come for a tour that would be passionate about this or I think need to hear about it? Yeah. And there's just there's a whole way that you can do this. But I I promise if you're a board member listening right now and you decided to bring people for a tour, um, you would be the favorite board member because the tour, short, the tour is it's way better than a special event because it doesn't cost anyone any money. Right. To there's no wine or chicken. Um, they get to see hand, you know, first, you know, firsthand exactly what's happening at your organization when they come. And then um, the board member gets a chance to take a step into being the one saying and excited and animated and sharing their passion, or they share their passion by getting them there. Right. And they let the development director and the ED take over. And um, and sometimes we find that the board member wants to be CC'd on all the emails going forward because they brought them and they they want to be the friend to that person. Right. The other thing I was gonna say is you mentioned committees. Um, what's so great for for potential board members and then for staff to to realize is that um when you bring people for a tour or you invite them to look at the Facebook page or you just get them involved, a lot of times we have a lot of things to do other than being a board member. Right. You know, there's there's committees, there's um program stuff, there's volunteering, there's drives for supplies so we don't have to buy it. Um, if you can plug in those areas, it gives you an idea if you want to be on the board. Right. You may be a person that wants to serve and roll up your sleeves and weed and paint and do the drive for paper towels or volunteer in other ways, or you might be the person that wants to be the social media ambassador chair. You might want to do all these things and never be on the board. Right. And that's fine because we need those people too. But what's really great is it gives you the opportunity to decide if you would like to be a board member and it gives the organization the opportunity to notice they would be a great board member. Right. And so you don't have to just jump in and be a board member first. You can do all of these things.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, to see if it's a good fit for you and a good fit for the organization.
SPEAKER_00Yes, for sure. Yes, yes. So um, this next section about it, this is another easy, easy way. Easy way. If you don't, if you're not bringing people for a tour, or maybe the hours of the organization don't work with the person you're trying to connect with, or you want to do something a little more intimate or really more
Porch Parties For Real Connection
SPEAKER_00personal. Right. The next thing on my list is host a little party. I if you listen to Gail Perry, she says it all the time. She calls them porch parties, have a porch party, invite people to the porch, tell them about the thing you love, and then tell them how they can help. Linda and I, we love a good little intimate gathering. And so it's small group, happy hour, casual event. Once again, you know, you could do a zoom. You could say, look, everybody, it's my birthday, and I want everyone to zoom this night because I'm going to tell you what I want you to do in honor of my birthday and have a 20-minute, this is what I'm passionate about, and I want y'all to do it too. And then show them the website and tell them when they can stop by for a tour. But you can post any kind of small event. And if you don't want to have it at your home, have it go somewhere for happy hour and have it after hours and just invite people there and tell them you want to meet for a drink or you want to meet for a Coke or a coffee or whatever, and have a few people come and tell them, I just need to tell y'all all about this board I'm on. Right.
SPEAKER_01And I think from probably most board members coming from the professional world, or if they're working somewhere ROI, that's what they talk about every day in their business. And I think from a fundraising perspective, yes, you could have a gala, you could have a golf tournament, you got two or three hundred people there. Um we need those. We need those in the equation. But the connection that's made at a small group, there's time for everybody in that group to visit, but there's also a more personal. I think you're gonna get more out of it. Um there's a more connection to the organization, to that board member that's hosting. And I've had them at the organization, and six people came. And it was a beautiful conversation that you could have never had at a gala with six people. You it's just not the way the the event is set up to happen. Um yeah, very meaningful, and it you could have water. You don't have to put money to have an event.
SPEAKER_00Iron Horse, Downtown Rogers is a great place to meet people if you want coffee and and a little cookie or something. Oh, they're awesome. If you can't have it at the organization, right, but the organization is great, and it's not about numbers as much as it is just getting the chance to be face to face with people to tell the mission. Right. Um, the peer-to-peer influence. And I was gonna say this about we we have a mutual friend named Corey, and she's a do-gooder. Um, and she is very passionate about clothed with compassion. And it's a great organization that helps um children in the school system that really don't have clothes, and it's all ages from uh elementary all the way up to high school. And she'll do a drive. Um, she's not on the board, she's not she's just passionate about it, and she'll have a drive at her office, and that was how I heard about it. And um, lo and behold, found out, you know, it's uh started in a church that's um the sister church to my church. I didn't know they were doing it out of there, but it started from there, and now they're helping schools all over instead of just a few schools. But anyway, she because she was interested in it, that is why Linda and I looked at it and thought, oh, we just need to order this, these socks and underwear from Walmart. And that's we drop it off at your office, okay, or ship it right to her office. Um, there have been other times that appear to appear, somebody just telling me about something, or I saw it on their social media made me think, I always wondered about that. Well, now that I know that Linda likes it, well, I'm gonna do that too. I think while you were at the food bank, the big eye-opener, we always knew that our dollars could go further at the food bank than than the boxes of macaroni and cheese, which are still good and needy. Right. But when I, you know, when Linda explained to me that if you give $20, I can feed this many more people because of the way the food bank is set up. Well, I wouldn't have known that if she wasn't my friend telling me those things. But um, that's that's all we're saying is is your you telling it, telling about it is the thing that goes the furthest with your friends.
SPEAKER_01And I think another aspect is so maybe groups are not your thing. You don't want to have a little gathering and have some. But if the organization that you're with and you're serving on that board, if they have volunteer opportunities, that's another way. Oh gosh, if your friends come, for example, at the food bank, you they pack food boxes that are given out. Um, or you go serve at a mobile pantry and you actually hand out those food boxes. A phenomenal way to bring somebody to the mission in action.
SPEAKER_00So I mean, it's like that the church, the Methodist Church downtown on Elms. Yes. And, you know, we know everyone that goes to that, that church, and they are big in the food bank. Don't they come as a group? Jenny Harmon's part of it. And they have their jobs. And I think they also do Samaritan Center pack back uh pack snap packs. Yeah. Um and they'll take their group and they'll work, and that's their social and emotional and their, you know, giving back. Right. They do.
SPEAKER_01But from a board member, if finding that way, if it's telling your friends why you're passionate about or asking them if they're interested in it, um, if and getting a group together, but I think putting them to work is such a meaningful way that you can, as you're cleaning whatever if you need the room needs painting. So you're out there and you're asking your friends to paint a room, pack food boxes, um whatever it is, as you're doing that work, you're talking about the organization and why you're involved. And I think that's just such a great opportunity.
SPEAKER_00Um, this is an aside about that. Like I remember I learned the hard way with staff and board for the the open avenues had the luau for many years. And um, I kept just saying, y'all just be there. I don't need to give you a sp y'all just be there and help me host the people, help people find their seats. I found out the hard way after a very hard conversation. The staff and the board, they wanted jobs. Yes. They what comes easy to me to greet and say hello and and walk you over to this is where the auction is. And that they wanted specifics. And once I figured out that, oh my goodness, I thought they would not want jobs. I thought they would want to be host of the event. Right. No, they wanted to know, I would rather fold the things or um hand out the programs, or um, they wanted specific jobs. And I think that's just along the lines. Give your friends a specific instead of, you know, maybe you don't want to have the group setting, but you could have everybody to come and we're gonna we're gonna pack the the backpacks or we're gonna make the food boxes or we're you know, and it's something that you're doing and you're once again, you're in it right having ownership then to be a part of it. Um, did we answer what the biggest myth is about hosting something? Would it just be that?
SPEAKER_01I think if you don't have to organize it, you it doesn't have to be elaborate. Uh-uh it it's right. So keep whatever it is, I'm collecting socks. Would you bring some socks? Would you come volunteer with me? Would you can we have coffee and I'm gonna have Allison come? And there's so many ways you can gay engage in this organization. It yeah, it's I think the myth is it has to be elaborate and it just doesn't.
SPEAKER_00It just doesn't. It's very, it's honestly simple and meaningful. And I think your friends are less intimidated if it's just laid back and simple. Right. And so um, yeah, you're right. That is the biggest myth. Is I think we think it's gotta be perfection. And it really just, we just need you to tell the story, dude. Just tell the story. Um so uh my next easy thing is to open your network.
Open Your Network With Simple Introductions
SPEAKER_00So um, you know, I tried really hard when I was a development officer to include the staff in everything. I wanted them to understand my job and understand where I was coming from because I think, as program, like if you're in the trenches doing all the hard work, what it looks like a development officer does is read the slicky magazines, the glossies every day and flit about to appointments and lunches. Yeah. And I don't think that uh they understand the pressure we have to try to or the purpose of going to lunch. And and the re the the outreach we're trying and the the visibility and all that. We need to be at the the luncheon because we need to see if we can rub elbows with so-and-so that we've been trying to get for the tour for six months and and and what if we need a new connection and it's all of that, but I wanted them to understand how they could help me with that. So I started sharing the things that I shared with board members, I started sharing it with staff members too. Yeah. So they would understand. I I don't I don't need you to throw an elaborate, you know, right voidy-toidy party. I just need you to tell people where you work and why you love it and share stories about work today, you know?
SPEAKER_01And I when you say you work for X, whatever it is, the food bank, Ever Hope, Mercy, Open Avenues, people and if they're interested, they're gonna say, Oh my gosh, well, what do you need? Right. And as a staff person, you just need to worry about what you're helping the clients with or whatever. But what the staff, they need to be prepared to answer that question. What do we need? You know what? I can connect you with the development staff. There is so many things that you can help with. You don't have to know what they are. You don't have to know we need saw me today or cereal or whatever.
SPEAKER_00You you do know because you're in the trenches. I mean, you know what we need, but a board member, they're not gonna know right off the top of their head what they need today. And they need to be prepared with the same thing. Uh-huh. And it's just, you know what?
SPEAKER_01Let me connect you to the right person that knows. They there are so many ways and things that the agency can use.
SPEAKER_00And yeah, yeah, yeah. And and so when you're out and about, like uh, we had several that would wear their name tags. So then people would ask them, you know, where do you work? And so I tried to make sure they uh felt comfortable saying what we did. Right. Because we found out that everyone had a different story. It was all basically the same, but some people might have used terminology that was because of who we were serving, um, people with different abilities. There was a there was a change in what was correct to say. Right. Probably three or four times while I was there. And so it was making sure the staff knew the appropriate way to respond, but giving them the tools to say, you know, but most of the time they said everything with their heart. Right. And it went, it was genuine and authentic what we're talking about. And they loved their jobs, you know. Um, I would try to include them in meetings or opportunities. Um, one of the things that I try to tell board members to help include, if you're serving, you're serving on this organization board and say you are a big sponsor at the Chamber Gala bluncheon or business forecast or whatever, and you've got, you know, a table of 10 and you've got two seats open. Think of the nonprofit that some that sometimes can't afford to be a sponsor, or the development uh director and the ED that don't normally get to go to stuff like that and let them sit at your table. As a matter of fact, it'd be great if you just always kept two for your favorite nonprofit because um most of the time they have to buy those tickets. Right. And they try to be there to rub elbows and but they're in the back or you know, in the individual seating.
SPEAKER_01But it also says to everybody else at that table, this organization is important to me and important enough that they have a seat at the table.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And and honestly, most of my career, when I got to sit at one of those tables, I met three or four people that I would have never gotten to meet had I not been invited to sit at the table. Um, Linda is a great example. So she uh was at Mercy Health Foundation, you know, with the charity ball. And I, Corey and I were on the registration committee for what seemed like 400 years before we both uh started having kids and then couldn't be at every charity ball, because apparently kids take your life out of you. But um, anyway, most of the people that I met were sitting as that checking people into the charity ball. And it was so beneficial because I was getting to help Clark and Linda, you know, with their big event. But also people were saying, Oh, I know you. I'm I I'm in rotary with you, or they would remember me and then they would remember where I worked. And you, we can all help each other. All of our organizations, right? We were all that was back when we all volunteered for each other, and there's probably still a lot of that going on. It's so beneficial. Everybody, it's not a it's not a competition here, but volunteer at each other's events. Right. It's very helpful. And then think of ways to uh uh get people to to be included. Um, the other thing, if you're a board member and you have staff meeting where y'all are supposed to have like a a moment for the community or something, invite the ED and the development director or one or the other, both, whatever, to just come to the beginning of the staff meeting and tell a little bit about the organization. And the thing is, is you've got employees that are on all different boards. So there's a nonprofit that's gonna want to tell their 10-minute speech at the beginning of your staff meeting. It doesn't have to, you know, you won't run out of times to do that, but it's like a community moment or a minute for mission, call it something. But um, the other thing is if you have team building day and you're about to do a big project, think of your go-to, and most of you do this, board members. You're most you most of you are really good about it. But go to the nonprofit you're on the board for first and say, do y'all need anything? And if they say, Oh my goodness, I can't think of like a big project right now, but there's all kinds of projects you can do that no one has to paint or get dirty. Right. We've had thank-a-thons, we've had a text, uh, you know, text all your friends to tell them about the organization and to visit the website. We're having a contest, and whoever wins gets a pizza. I don't know. You can come up with really fun ways to get the awareness out. Right. Um, but that's another way to include uh people into make sure your staff know why you're going to this gala, make sure why they know why you're asking so-and-so to sit at your table, that kind of thing. Um basically, uh if you're a board member, you're a connector. That's the thing. We need you to connect the mission and the faces of the organization to other people. Because if we don't get that, we we're never gonna get the message out as of what we're doing. And what if there's someone on your staff that needs the services? Right. The only way for them to find out, I didn't know they did that. I need a, I could have used groceries last week. I didn't realize that anyone could get those.
SPEAKER_01But we had a medical thing, and it, you know, please be or not even that your employee, but there's someone in their family. Yes. There's so many times that, yeah, I had an experience where somebody came up after the fact and said, Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I found out about this because my sister, my aunt, somebody needed this at that moment. So I mean, that's why the agency's there is to provide um the services to the community. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00So you just have to be more open about it. And I'm telling you, all of this is so much more simple than I think we make it. Right. It's just literally drop it in a conversation, be sure you, you know, you're sharing what you're doing in your off time. Right. You know, yeah. Um, do you have one of those stories that I mean, I know you just said where someone said, I needed that and didn't know they did it. Like, is there one that you can think of from the shelter or the food bank or mercy?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Where I think maybe it's not so much like I've had I've used those services, or my coworker, um different agencies have that, but I think having people connect or um say I I think too, uh and probably every nonprofit says their struggle is social awareness, community engagement, not everybody has a marketing team. Um, and it's when you're connecting and somebody says, I had no idea that you guys did that. Yes, that's a win. That is so simple and so small. But if you have 10 board members and 10 of each of them are sharing and 10 people or whatever, do the math. We're in fundraising, we already do math.
SPEAKER_00That's right. We just raise it. We don't count it or anything.
SPEAKER_01Um that's how many people are saying, I had no idea you were here. I had no idea you did that. Um that just continues to grow and grow and grow. And I think that's probably not an exact example, but it's happened a thousand times.
SPEAKER_00A thousand times. And the other thing that she said that about marketing and all that, a lot of organizations don't have a robust marketing budget, but also the cost, whoops, drop my pen. The cost of um acquiring new donors is a jillion trillion more than you would think. So if if nonprofits seriously had to vamp up marketing, the cost would be way too much to take away from the mission because it costs so much to get new donors. Right. If you're if you're talking about direct mail pieces to uh a list, yeah, we don't know and galas and all that stuff. All of it is a part of fundraising. But for us to meet and find the people, we need you to do the connection. And what what she's saying is if we have 10 board members on the board and you each identify 10 people, that's a hundred people. Right. I hope. I still am not good at math. But it no matter it's more than 10.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and it's organic and it cost nothing. Nothing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, my friend Hope Bat Bradbury always said, you could throw a party and you know, spend that money on chicken and and the red carpet and the wine and the tablecloths and all the things. Or you can say, so-and-so, uh, let's go have coffee. And you can just tell them the need and tell them what's going on. And before the end of the conversation, they'll say, Well, how can we help? And you never even get to the asking part. They just want to know and want to solve it. And you've literally spent a cup of coffee instead of thousands on a gala. Right. So now, once again, we need the galas people. I'm not saying don't have them, but we just have to remember this is such an authentic way to acquire new donors and make new friends and get more people to love our missions. Okay, we're gonna take another quick break for our sponsors. Okay, it's Allison here. Let's take a quick minute to say what is your favorite moisturizer? My favorite skincare treat is um the moisturizer I put on right before bed called the Rodin and Fields Hydra Mask Gel Cream. I absolutely love that stuff. And I keep wanting to post about it every day, but people are tired of seeing me talk about it. It feels like heaven on your skin. And if you're a if you've never tried Rodin and Fields, you get 25% off if you're a new customer. And I hope you'll talk to me about that. If you're already one of my customers, if you just say that you listen to this podcast, just put in the email, askAlison at allisonmacloroy.org, put uh ask Allison Podcast RF in the subject line or in the email, you're gonna get 10% off. And heck, you might even get a free gift. Who knows? Just you know, think about it. Skincare's good stuff, and we all need it. And don't forget to wear your sunscreen. Thank you. So the last but certainly not least
Board Giving And Commitment Sheets
SPEAKER_00bonus. I said five easy things. This is the sixth thing, guys, that we have to do for a board member. We have to lead by example, and we have to do that by making our own personal commitment and gift. And um, there have been a lot of studies recently about money not being the only way to do that. Um board members come from all walks of life, and some boards have a certain amount you have to give, but most boards don't. And if you're doing something for that organization, that is giving back. But there should be a time every year that uh there's a board meeting where we have the board kickoff. And I've got examples of board commitment sheets, and you just list all the things you do the whole year. And you just say to the board members, I just need to get an idea of which thing you're the most passionate about and where you're want to put your where you want to put your donations this year. And a board member can say, I'm gonna do one lump sum for the annual, and you can just put it however you want. Right. Or they can say, I want to sponsor the gala because I like and I want to be table seven or whatever, whatever it is they do. But we have to get those commitments before we can spend the whole year asking other people for money. Because I will tell you, every grant application I have ever filled out says, what is the participation of board giving? And so you have to be able to put a hundred percent.
SPEAKER_01I'm not just on grant applications. I've had other donors, when you're having the conversation on how they want to make a difference in the mission, they will ask, is your board 100% giving? If your board's not committed, they why would they invest in the organization or in your mission? Um, so I've yeah, I've had that more than more than you would think. Yes.
SPEAKER_00I've had that too, where you know, there are seasoned philanthropists out there and they always ask that question. Yeah. So when we, you know, when the development person's at the meeting saying, you know, everybody, we need a sponsor, we need to share, we need to, most of the time, we also just need to know which gift you're going to do at which time of the year, so that we can check that box or answer that question if it comes up. But the the biggest takeaway is before we go out and ask other people for money, we have to be ready to say, oh, yes, this is where so-and-so and I give. We're very passionate about it, and we we make our commitment every June or every March or whatever it is. Yeah. Um, so that's the big thing. You've got to be sure and make your personal gift, lead by example, show your belief in the mission. When you do that, it builds credibility for the organization and the staff and the people that they serve. You can even go a step further, development officers, and have staff fund day. Um, a lot of the larger organizations do it. They'll have a, you know, a day where everybody can decide that they want to give out of their paycheck a dollar or two dollars or a special campaign fund and they'll do an extra dollar for that. Um, I was discouraged when I first wanted to do that. I was discouraged and told no one is gonna want to do that. And I will tell you that I pressed because I had been to, I'm sure I had been to a conference and heard, but I pressed on it. And when I explained it to the staff, we had a hundred percent giving. And there might be one or two that literally cannot give. And that's okay. But what happened was in our case, we had this staff member that was very generous. And when he would find out that somebody could not give, he would give a dollar and say, I want mine to go in their name. And so uh we would do that, and then we could say we had 100% giving. And then we would have a party and we would have door prizes. And there's so many fun things you could do. Parking place, like the best parking place for a week. Um, some some organizations and like United Way used to do to do. Do this with their campaigns in for the corporate. You could get if you everybody gave, they get entered to win a day off, or you know, just you know, so many prizes, and we had so much fun. We would call it the um, it was the annual uh Frito Friday, Frito Pie Friday, and I would make chili, Dwayne's recipe, which is famous, award-winning chili. I would make ch Dwayne's chili, and we would have hot dogs and Fritos and cheese and sour cream. So you could have chili, or you could build yourself a chili cheese dog, or you could have Frito Pie. And we called it Frito Pie Friday. And it was once a year, always in November. And we would do the whole spill. We'd have door prizes games, everything all over the lunch. Like, and we had to act quick because most of our people had to get back out um to be with clients, the clients. So we had to go fast, but it was always fun. And um, we would talk about like matching gifts, like employee, he's gonna do this if we get this. And it was just a blast. And yeah, and and then I did one board meeting a year, probably like uh if your fiscal year is like July through June, or if it's January through December, that first month is a great time to kick off the new year with your board. Um, pass out the commitment sheets and say you don't, you know, you don't necessarily have to say exactly. We just need to know that you're planning to commit and which which place. But we um we'd have a contest between board members, uh-huh. Whoever got the most, you know, whatever back would win something, you know, a door prize or something. So there's there's ways to make it fun. So um the thing is just start. Just start by having a conversation and uh letting your board members know that it's the big myth is that it's always got to be perfect or elaborate, or it's really not. They if they will sit and be on social media, if they're on it already, that's the easiest one for them to do. Share, like, comment, post.
SPEAKER_01Don't be afraid to ask. Don't be afraid. From a board member, don't say, like, you're asking me to do this. I just don't have the bandwidth to do it. We've got a crazy project at work. But if you'll craft it for me, I'm happy to post it. And I think a lot of times maybe a board member feels like the staff already has too much on their plate. I don't want to ask them for another thing. It's worth the effort for the post because the outcome is gonna be so impactful. But don't be afraid to say, if you're asking me to do this, I need your help, preparing it, crafting, give me some bullet points, something. I think you just, yeah. Yeah. Ask the staff because they're there to help. That's what I mean. We want the board member to be successful because then the agency's gonna be successful.
SPEAKER_00And to the the development staff and the ED, like, don't assume that the board member knows what to do. Yeah. They literally want you to say on Tuesdays, I need you to go in and find our page and share that the Tuesday thought or whatever your Thursday thought, whatever it is you've got going on on your social media, you have to let them know. That board members just want you to tell them exactly what to do. Yeah. They do.
SPEAKER_01And I think that's probably too a big takeaway. If you work for that organization, you're showing up every day, you're hearing the stories, you're seeing it firsthand. And I think sometimes we as the staff, uh-huh, we as the development people, uh huh. Yeah, we see it and it's just everybody knows what's going on. Well, everybody knows it's easy just to share. Take a minute at a committee meeting. I think, I mean, that mission moment, whatever that looks like for your organization, you make it tell a story at the beginning of every meeting, every board meeting, every committee meeting, share a story. It doesn't have to be a phenomenal success story, but an impactful way, or the mission had this impact this week, this month. But if you don't arm them with the stories, and you're asking them to be your um ambassador in the community, but they're not living it. So don't forget, email it out on Mondays. Here's your Monday mission moment. Overcommunicate, but make sure they're prepared to share it.
Equip Board Members With Stories
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. So what's the easiest first step that a development person could take this week to just really like so they're bored, like all of a sudden they listen to this podcast and they get back to work and they don't overwhelm their board, but like, what's one thing they could start pretty quick? Maybe that, like a weekly email of this is the store, or if if weekly is too much and your board has said, quit emailing me so much, then maybe it's every other week. Yeah. But is that anything?
SPEAKER_01I would love it as a board member. If and it's three sentences, four bullets, here's something that great happened. Um, if somebody asks you, maybe you phrase it that way, the next time you get asked why you're involved or serve on this board, here's a one-line sentence, or whatever, we fed this many people this month or this week. Um yeah. I think arming and equipping your committees and your boards with the information that you're asking them to share is so important.
SPEAKER_00And it's just start like all the years I spent thinking that they must know. The board must know because I talk about it all the time. The board member is living their life with work and home and meetings and stuff. So they they are passionate, but it must not be the only board they're sitting on. That's right. So, but they need they need to be reminded and told over and over and have it spoon-fed, like make it so easy that there's no reason they wouldn't just pop that on their wall.
SPEAKER_01And maybe you've already doing that. So maybe you say this week, I'm gonna email five board members and I'm gonna ask them a very specific thing I want. Could you introduce me to one person this month?
SPEAKER_00That is just super small. See why I have Linda here. Super small. But we've been dying to meet that person. We don't know. We figure out board member knows them.
SPEAKER_01And we and maybe they don't know them and they say, I can't connect you. But Alison, who I work with, I think does know them. Let me ask her to do it. Or I don't know them, I don't know anybody that knows them, but I know Corey. Can I introduce you to Corey? Of course you can. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just a very specific um ask. Super easy for them. Give them the month to make it happen.
SPEAKER_00I love it. I love it. Okay.
A Graduation Question And Closing
SPEAKER_00The podcast is called Ask Allison. So I like to end with you getting to ask me any question. It doesn't have to be related to this. Oh, you get to ask me anything you want to ask me. Um, so you can ask me any burning question that you would like to talk to me about, and I will answer it, not knowing. I don't know what the question is.
SPEAKER_01And she may not know either, but um how are you dealing with your oldest son graduating from college?
SPEAKER_00Oh my goodness. I am really struggling with the idea that first of all, it's time because it seems like we just moved him down there. But I think there's it's lots of emotions. Like I'd like for him just to come back home and live his life right here. Right. And I think that's what he plans to do today. But I also know that things could change and he could decide to stay down there. You know, most people that go to a school somewhere else end up living there. So I have to be realistic about that too. Um, I'm so he's all grown up. He's all grown up. I'm so proud of him. And my little Cooper. Yeah. Yep. Cooper always called Linda my Linda. I don't know where it how it got started, but I said something about Linda one day, and he goes, my Linda. So he's my or she says my Linda about Linda. But yeah, it's it is mixed emotions. It's exciting and um, but also just, you know, wanting to say, come back to Rogers, you know, come be by us. But then also knowing that I want him to live his best life. And right, I also want him to get a really good job so mom and dad can get a a little bit of a raise and prepare for the next son. Yeah. To to spread his wings. Yeah, that's a good one. I thought you were gonna ask me what my favorite jeans were or something like that. I'm gonna tell you what my favorite jeans are. They're the Sloan jeans from the cabbie uh spring 26 lines. Yeah, check those out. Sloan. They're my favorite. I love the way I have a weird shape. And they there's something about those jeans that uh looks better on me. Yeah. So then you got two answers and one question you didn't even ask. Oh, thanks again for being here with me. Oh my goodness, we went over the time as usual, but we I hope you got really good information. Um I just appreciate you all tuning in. Please share this with anyone you think would get something out of it. And just know uh I'll be back uh on the 7th of every month. That's when the podcast comes out. And I'm here when you need me. All you have to do is ask Allison.