How a Nonprofit Created Sustainable Funding
2010
massnonprofit.org
By Jay W. Vogt
Enjoying a 20-fold return on its investment, one family services organization is convinced it has found the holy grail of nonprofits: a reliable, proven path to sustainable funding. It took guts and it took discipline, says the executive director of The Children’s Room in Arlington, but it raised more than just the organization’s bottom line.
A year ago, The Children’s Room (TCR), which helps grieving children and families, committed the upfront costs and significant investment of board and staff time required for joining the Benevon program.
Benevon, a private company, provides a paint-by-numbers formula for raising gifts from individual donors by relentlessly focusing on mission. Staff and board teams attend two-day trainings and then return to their organizations with a detailed game plan and the expertise of a coach…