Conference Aims to Teach Sustainable Fund-raising Methods

By Sara Watson Arthurs
The Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)

September 16, 2004

ARCATA — Even when you're asking people for money, treat them the way you would want to be treated, Terry Axelrod told a group of local nonprofit leaders. Axelrod was one of several presenters at the California Association of Nonprofits Regional Conference "Common Threads: Goals, Partnership, Action" at the Arcata Community Center on Tuesday.

She's president and CEO of the Seattle-based firm Raising More Money, which teaches nonprofit organizations methods for sustainable fund raising—as Axelrod put it, how to get off the "treadmill" of constantly running in search of money and instead think long term.

Raising More Money's website states that more than 80 percent of charitable contributions come from individual donors, but most nonprofit organizations rely on funding from corporations, foundations and special events.

"Studies continue to show that the No. 1 reason people give is because they support and believe in the work and mission of the organization," the website states.

So organizations must ensure that individual community members are familiar with the organization's work and excited about its mission, Axelrod said. She advocated first introducing people to the organization with a tour, being friendly and not pressuring, then continuing to build a personal relationship before asking for money. People who support the mission will keep coming back, she said.

"If you wait until the fruit is ready it will fall into your hand," she said.

Axelrod said this approach raises more money because organizations can target their fund-raising efforts to those most likely to give—and both these "ripe fruit" people and those who aren't interested feel respected throughout the process.

Florence Green, executive director of the California Association of Nonprofits, said the association is committed to helping build professionalism and skills among nonprofits. It holds conferences annually in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but "oftentimes organizations in the outlying areas just can't afford to come," she said.

One of the local conference organizers, Mel and Grace McLean Foundation Executive Director Leigh Pierre-Oetker, said the local branch of the association wanted to ensure that nonprofit staff and boards could get training without having to pay to travel out of the area. She said 110 people from Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino and Trinity counties attended the conference.

Green led a workshop on how to determine problems in nonprofit boards and help them function better. In an interview, she said her philosophy about board effectiveness has "more to do with organizational structure and less to do with personalities."

Other workshops focused on federal and state legislation related to nonprofit organizations, how to recruit and keep volunteers, financing capital purchases, and seeking grant money.

Coming this weekend: Local thoughts on SB 1262, a bill that would change the way nonprofits do business.

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Record Number: 2405772