The Million Dollar Question

Takeaways

Before raising funds, be sure you can answer exactly what you would do with the money and what impact it would make. Your answer may determine exactly what you raise.

It was a clear and cold December evening in New York. I was finishing a week of meetings with three incredible organizations by attending a fundraising event being held by a client. Afterward, the senior leadership team requested we meet at a nearby bar to gather my thoughts on how the evening had gone.

I honestly felt that their ask at the event fell short. It seemed to lack urgency, even though their programs were fantastic and had the potential to scale significantly. They had worked hard on the event and the timing was not right for a critique, so I answered their question with a question that ended up setting historical change in motion for their organization. “What would you do with a million dollars, if I could write you the check tonight?”

The Problem

The answer was very telling. They struggled to come up with a clear and compelling response. They even argued a bit trying to formulate use for such funds. So I lowered the amount to $500,000, $250,000, and $100,000, but the same painful responses ensued. Clarity emerged at $50,000. At that amount, they articulated a compelling plan, interesting anticipated outcomes, and a sense of urgency. You could see the light bulb come on over the head of their development director as to why their gift size was stuck at $50,000.

They were struggling to receive large gifts because they were simply not ready for them. They were cultivating meaningful relationships with high-net-worth donors who were patiently waiting for them to present a need that was compelling enough for them to write a check that made them sweat a bit. They were receiving the exact gifts that they were prepared for and I would bet that is true of your organization as well. At whatever dollar amount you can provide a clear plan with outcomes, that is the exact size gift you are probably getting. 

The Solution

They invited me to spend a few days with them answering the million-dollar question in January of that next year. We created a strategic plan together that stated exactly what they should have been able to articulate in the bar that night. We identified the delta, the gap between what they could do with the funding they had and what they could accomplish if their programs were operating at scale. And we put a price tag on that growth of just over $1 million. Their conversations with donors immediately started to change so it was no surprise that in November of that same year, I got a call from an elated team that they had received a grant for $1.5 million.

It happened again this week with another client. The time frame was shorter but the principle was the same. We created a plan in June and this week in December, they signed a funding commitment worth over $1.3 million for the next three years. And they were a start-up. I can think of at least four other times this has happened with 7 or 8 figure gifts and dozens of times with six-figure gifts in organizations I have led or with clients.

The Fantasy

It is a non-profit fantasy that a donor will walk up and give you a million dollars. But it’s a reality for those who have done the work of defining the delta between the impact that they can make with what they have, and the change they can create in the world with what they need.  

The reality is that people with money want to know what you will do with it before they give it. And only those who are asking for a million and have a clear plan for what they will do with it, ever receive those kinds of gifts.