SEATTLE, Nov. 23, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- For most nonprofits, sustainable funding is a dream. But for a select few, it's getting much closer to reality.
Raising More Money, a Seattle-based organization, is enrolling up to 20 nonprofits in a five-year pilot project to create sustainable funding, not just paying for next year's operating expenses. Terry Axelrod, CEO and founder of Raising More Money, is convinced any nonprofit can be financially secure for years to come if it knows how to connect with people. The program will formally launch on Dec. 1, 2004.
"We live in a world of abundance," said Axelrod. "We want wonderful nonprofits like Covenant Healthcare (Wisconsin) to start thinking the impossible -- that they can leave a legacy of self-sustaining funding."
Every group enrolled in the pilot program will be setting lofty goals to secure their financial future. They will attend workshops and be coached for five years by specially trained fundraising instructors. Each group will set a 10-year goal with yearly benchmarks to track their success. The benchmarks will vary from group to group. Some may want an endowment; others may want to expand their multiple-year donors. When the pilot program ends at five years, each nonprofit will have a financial roadmap.
"Whatever their goal is, we're committed to getting these groups off the fundraising treadmill," said Axelrod.
Among the groups who have signed on to the pilot program are Covenant Healthcare, Wisconsin's second largest health care system, and two Raising More Money alumni organizations: Volunteers of America North Louisiana, a faith-based group that runs a large adoption program (mostly older children in foster care) and 50 other programs, and the Sojourner Center in Phoenix, an organization that provides a safe haven from domestic violence.
"We are dreaming of a $1.5 million endowment, something we once thought was impossible," said Lisa Brandeburg, the public relations and development director for Volunteers of America North Louisiana.
The sustainability pilot program costs each group $50,000 over five years and includes five years of training, coaching and conference calls for teams of six board members, staff and volunteers. The cost includes sending three additional team members every year for training. The average group using the Raising More Money Model in 2004 raised $161,000 at their first fundraising event so the costs will be just a fraction of what each group plans to raise.
Raising More Money has trained more than 2,000 nonprofits in a mission-based fundraising system, including offices of The Salvation Army, American Red Cross and Big Brothers Big Sisters. This system ends the suffering about fundraising and builds passionate and committed lifelong donors. For more information about Raising More Money, contact Bobbi Nodell at 206-709-9400, ext. 140 or at bobbin@raisingmoremoney.com, or visit www.raisingmoremoney.com.
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