We announced last week that we are launching Good Advice Over Coffee (a monthly one-hour small group gathering of community cause champions) and asked you to rank your choice of discussion topics and reserve your seat. THANK YOU to all who responded! We now have a full house for our first one next Thursday, April 11th, 8AM-9AM at Common Desk in Fort Worth, but we have started a waiting list, so simply reply to this email or email Scott Smith to add your name.
As part of our 25th year anniversary, we are launching Good Advice Over Coffee, an opportunity for a small group of like-minded cause champions to gather over a cup of coffee once a month to discuss topics that are key to our work together to advance community causes. We'll discuss matters that are in Project Partners' areas of expertise but we recognize that we'll learn as much from the conversation as anyone. We can't wait!
I can vividly recall my American Heart Association fundraising and volunteer engagement training in the late 1980's. Teams of AHA staff were in small groups discussing the important steps to success. The assigned "reporter" from one of the groups used an entire flip chart page to write "Follow up! Follow up! Follow up!" and he used a red marker to add emphasis. The primary point: As one engages donors, sponsors, and volunteers, follow up will be an absolute necessity. I learned this to be true during my American Heart Association career and beyond.
Are you raising money, engaging others in your community, or recruiting volunteers? If so, it's critical to create a sense of urgency around their positive response to help. The following steps will make all the difference in engaging others, whether you are recruiting for a one-time event or promoting an important cause:
In 2005, Project Partners was assisting an independent school district foundation. The goals were to improve their community profile and raise more money. Then Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast. In their wake, the board volunteers, foundation and ISD staff hesitated to run a school district employee contributions campaign because the district staff had already responded very generously to both a call for help for hurricane victims and the annual United Way campaign.
