Amy D Jones’ Post

Who's ready for a very nerdy blog post? Remember, events are NEVER a solo sport. You're in luck: we've written a succinct little guide to getting the right people involved, in the right ways, at the right times in your event planning process to help your nonprofit fundraising event flow smoothly. Click that blog link and enjoy! 🤓 #nonprofiteventnerds #dreamteam #management #projectmanagement

Remember this? When I shared with you of a solicitation request that hit wonky, at a Gala event last month, and to either "Give right here/be sent a bill?" Well, last week, I received a thank you letter for my gift of personal significance. Beyond the 15 inferences to "we/us/org" in the letter, here's the formulaic recap: ⁉ My gift, when pooled, helped raise $XXX,XXX. ⁉ My gift goes to "'Program XYZ'...supporting increased need, increased trauma...increased emotions...and increased need for support..." (Yes - this copy was lifted right from the letter.) ⁉ "Our video...our evening...we feel supported...we provide...we offer...our professional staff..." ⁉ "Mark you calendars for [Month/Day], 2024, for our XX/st/th benefit!" For organizations who have historically set acquisition and special event tactics on autopilot, please pause that and really take stock in what harm your fundraising is enabling, especially if you feel the need to continue the same tired equation and without genuine outcome-based story-sharing. And that quote in your video of "gotta try to get more donors"? How about you begin to think differently about seeing who you already have in your corner? The #cringecontinues, friends. #responsivefundraising #galas #events #selfdefeating #broken https://lnkd.in/g8qGmE56

Networking is all about creating opportunities to connect with others and build strong relationships. You can establish lasting connections by leveraging your Giving Circle for professional networking while positively impacting your community. Our newest blog post "Building Community through Collective Giving" will discuss: 💛 How to build and bring your network into your Giving Circle 💛 How to Engage with Giving Circle members Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gHctC2Qh

Opportunities

Calling all #eventprofs, let's get real -- how often are you caught wearing your 'tape bracelet' onsite? Spike tape, blue tape, gaff tape ... My personal rule is try to put down the tape before doors open for guests, but SOMETIMES that's just not in the cards 😂 Anyway ... check out our new blog about the Synchronicity approach to Production!

So...I heard that last week. What?! Yes. A real “ask” overheard at a community benefit event. #cringemuch? As the organization closed their silent auction nearly two weeks post-event (they opened it after the event ended to continue generosity from the night), this next question came to event staff: “Why didn’t we raise more?” Another real quote, shared with me from the same organization that used deficit-based event program content and their subsequent deflating ask, and from a board member who may not fully understand this work. Now, the organization did meet their revenue goals, but some feedback from attendees (not me) hit super-awkwardly: “Why did the person in their video say they ‘gotta try and get more donors’?” As I’ve often elevated to clients, organizations, and peers, when you set special event and supporter acquisition strategies on auto-pilot, your results will eventually plateau. And, to have the energy in the room deflate during the ask, only focusing on “getting more”, what a total turn-off to existing and prospective supporters. To lift some phrases from Jim Langley here, I left: 😕 With less confidence in the agency; 😟 Feeling the story and ask were not relevant to their actual work in 2023; and 😢 Sad, knowing that without having received any donor outreach between events from the organization to me, to really learn what I care about (other than sending me this year’s event invitation...), my past commitments don’t appear to matter. Greg Cunningham, MBA, a local champion of larger systems-change and community impact so aptly stated yesterday morning, on a North Star Journey community panel with MPR News’s Angela Davis: “Culture is a factor to the success equation.” Is anyone talking deeply about true and lost opportunity (culture?) costs from events? Agencies always tout “goodwill” and “buzz” as an intangible benefit of galas, but rarely do they look inward to explore their true pain points of opportunity. For those agencies still expecting great results from a tired special events model, listen closely to and involve your stakeholders in event design. Your community deserves more; donors of all types are actively finding nonprofits that are seeing them as true partners in the work, over ones that simply share the dollars raised from a lens of competition. #responsivefundraising #gala #specialevents #brokenmodels #sensemaking

While #virtualevents have their advantages in terms of accessibility and convenience, the return of in-person events acknowledges the intrinsic value of human interaction. Learn how #associations are adapting to the new reality of #hybridevents. Karla Jimenez provides insight. https://hubs.ly/Q01Z85fp0 #AskMarcum #nonprofits

The power of community ✊ Plaza Community Cinema is a gorgeous art deco cinema in Waterloo which was brought back to life as a result of a community campaign. It’s run by a small team and lots of very willing volunteers. I was back there last week for the Banff Mountain Film Festival - which I'd highly recommend if it's visiting a town near you! - and reminded of: 1️⃣ The appreciation and love people have for local places with history, with heritage - their willingness to learn and treasure them. 2️⃣ The value of having such wonderful, accessible meeting spaces which can be enjoyed with friends and create opportunities to meet new people. 3️⃣ Just how much is achievable with groups of well meaning people come together. After all, back in 1995 planning permission was requested for the site to be redeveloped into offices. Yet, due to community organising, it was reopened in 1997 and bought by the Plaza Community Cinema chairity in 2000 🙌 Despite being a charity the vast majority of their income comes from trading activities - cinema tickets and kiosk sales - which means their income is unrestricted and can be invested in ways which the community value the most. It gives comfort that the benefits the cinema has aren’t depended on grant funding which can be inconsistent, restricted in its use and come with time consuming reporting requirements. 🍿 Could you imagine your local Odeon or Vue charging just £5.90 for an adult cinema ticket? ☕️ Or running monthly Warm Welcome community screenings with snacks, a hot drink and FREE admission during the cold season to give people somewhere nice and warm to enjoy locally? Imagine if we lived in a society where more businesses used the income they made from trading to increase the positive impact on local communities and easy access to beautiful spaces to meet and connect? 👉Drop me a DM if you’d like to talk about how you can increase the positive impact your business makes 👈 Or join our mailing listing for quarterly updates from Hawthorne & Burman Impact Consulting: https://lnkd.in/gfbZK3kV Photo credit: Mark McNulty

New blog post alert! “In my tenure working in the nonprofit event fundraising space, I’ve seen my share of #events. And while it’s absolutely kicked up a notch (or 10) on the Komen 3-Day, a common theme within our industry is this: The fortitude of your community is so important (#understatement), and if you cultivate those relationships correctly and intentionally, you can turn your attendees into lifelong supporters and organizational advocates. Here are five tips to build and sustain a strong community to ensure your participants keep coming back and feel like valued members of your event: #1 Year-round relationships #2 Ask for feedback and implement changes based on what you hear #3 Create opportunities for connection during the off-season #4 Recognize that the community builds the community #5 Wear your heart on your sleeve We’d love to hear how you orchestrate organizational development within your spaces. Our communities may be similar or vary when looking at any number of demographics, but one thing remains universally true: we are in the glorious business of meeting, moving, and motivating people. And, as always, business is good.” Read Molly’s full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/gMkBzyqf

"Hey Liz, can you please define community for me?" I was asked this question on Friday as I prepared to present to a group of association event professionals who are trying to make their events more community focused. Here's what I said: I'd like you to picture a house. Take a moment to see it in your mind. The front door. The kitchen. The living room. What did you picture? 🏡 Was it a Tiny Home in the woods? 🏰 A mansion with gates and tennis courts? 🚢 A house on a private island off the coast of Maine with your own lighthouse? They're all houses, but they are so very specific to what YOU want out of YOUR house. Communities are the same. They can be a single event. A Slack channel. An association offering education, gatherings, online content, newsletters, regional chapters. A church congregation. A regular trivia night at the local pub. Then I was asked about the IMEX community, the CEMA community, the ASAE community and other industry events - are they communities? I view these large gatherings as neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have lots of houses in them and the people come together for block parties, and then they go back to their houses for the rest of the year, seeing neighbors here and there, hosting their own dinner parties, loaning each other tools when they need them. Yes, they are communities. And there are communities within them. We get too wrapped around the axle trying to define things. We should focus on the feeling you have when you're around these events and these people: 👉 Community is a feeling of belonging, camaraderie, and the commonality of shared interests. 👈 Whatever groups you are a part of that offer you this feeling are your communities. And guess what? You can be a part of as many of them as you'd like!! ✅ Paid communities ✅ Kid's sports ecosystem ✅ Spiritual family ✅ Physical neighborhood ✅ Parent-Teacher Organization ✅ Professional associations ✅ Friend groups ✅ Alumni associations ✅ Book (wine?) clubs ✅ Charitable causes So let's stop trying to put a single definition on community and start defining what kind of community YOU want to build or join to meet your needs! Need help defining what kind of community is right for you? I can help. -------------------- Hi, I'm Liz. I help marketers connect. 🔔 To follow my content 💻 thecommunityfactory.com ✉ liz@thecommunityfactory.com Communities I run: 🏯 www.weareichi.com 📣 www.teamcmo.com Nicole Osibodu, XOXO Kamryn Bryce