Episode 95: Clarity at a Glance
Do Your Descriptions Clearly Reflect Your Mission? Funders use your mission and program descriptions to determine alignment with their funding goals. With so much at stake, don't risk getting screened out of a funding opportunity because you didn't understand how important clear, measurable, and targeted descriptions are. Learn more in this episode!
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🔦 NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT 🙌🏿
Chasing 7 Dreams Part 3
👉🏿 https://chasing7dreams.org/
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🚀 RESOURCES TO HELP YOU RUN A SUCCESSFUL NONPROFIT 🚀
How to Demonstrate Measurable Impact
https://fusion.amberwynn.net/product/how-to-demonstrate-measurable-impact/
90 Days to a Profitable Nonprofit
https://www.amberwynn.net/profitable-nonprofit
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Podcast Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to On Air with Amber Wynn, where nonprofit leaders learn to fuse passion and commitment with proven business strategies to create long-term funding, impact and sustainability. And now here's your host and resident Philanthropreneur Amber Wynn.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hey, fam, it's your girl back in the house on air with Amber Wynn, Philanthropreneur. And in this session we're going to dive deep about some very essentials. What do I mean by that? We're going to talk about do your descriptions clearly reflect your mission? Today's episode title is Clarity at a Glance. And it's important to understand that how you present yourself, what you say, the name of your organization, your mission, all of these things have a purpose and a meaning. And I'm sharing this with you because as a funder, we only have a limited amount of money and we look for things to help us make really quick decisions. And so your descriptions are important. I'll have people just kind of throw together a bunch of goobly, glop, and it's like, what are you even saying? Who are you and what does this mean? And so today we're going to dive deep into how your descriptions really impact you in terms of passing the eligibility screening. Okay? I just want you to understand the impact so that you can go back in, tweak your information, but we'll dive a little bit deeper. We're going to pause for a minute when we come back. Clarity at a glance,
Speaker 3 (01:56):
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Speaker 2 (02:29):
Welcome back to On Air with Amber Wynn. Today's topic is clarity at a glance, and we're talking about things you should think about when starting your nonprofit because we're going deeper, getting a little bit up close and personal about how to build out a profitable nonprofit. And I just want to clarify, your nonprofit needs to be profitable. Nonprofit does not mean no profit you money in order to pay yourself as an executive director in order to pay your staff people who are going to deliver their programs to fund your programs. You need materials, you need supplies, you need somewhere to deliver your programs. So it's important to understand that nonprofit does not mean no profit. Now, as you start to build out your nonprofit, we want to make sure that you're building it out the right way. Don't rush through setting up your foundation. Take your time, set your foundation up the right way so that you don't have to go back and fix it.
(03:35):
And here's the thing, if you rush through it, you're going to miss the mark. There's going to be some things that you're going to miss, and we don't want that. We want you to just do it right the first time. And it's okay if you're coming back and you're doing it right a second time, but we want you to land it because these are the things that's going to help you qualify for funding. And we're starting with do your descriptions clearly reflect your mission? Listen, the first thing that a funder does is they look at your mission. Because as a funder, we have to align our giving goals with organizations that align with who we are and what it is we want to fund. If I'm a funder who is about environmental issues, I'm not going to fund a youth development program. So the first thing I'm going to do is look at your mission.
(04:29):
If your mission says nothing, then that gives me permission to move on to the next organization. And people are like, are funders really that shallow? It's not shallow. It's how else do we make decisions? And the purpose of a mission, there is a purpose of a mission. So that's why I'm sharing with you. You want to make sure that your mission clearly describes your organization's goal. What's the problem right now? Who is it that you are serving? What's going to change in your community as a result of your organization's, programs and services? Yes, all of that's supposed to be in a mission, but it's not supposed to be the program description, the organization history. It's supposed to be something that inspires and gives a funder an idea of what it is that you are doing. For example, girls Inc's mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.
(05:27):
That's a sexy mission. Number one, it's short to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. It's memorable, it's short, it's powerful. Their goal is to inspire. So we can take from that our young girls aren't inspired to inspire all girls. We know who the target audience is. It's girls, all of them to be what? Strong, smart, and bold. So the inference right there is their, they're not strong, they're not smart, and they're our bold or better put. The goal is for them to be strong, smart, in bold. So through that mission, we understand that the programs, the services, all of their goals is to inspire girls to be strong, smart, in bold. So when they're doing their media literacy, when they're talking to girls about their body image, the purpose, the goal is to inspire them to be strong, smart, in bold, to have agency over your body.
(06:32):
When we're talking about non-traditional careers, the purpose is to inspire girls to be strong, smart, in bold. So when you're going for these non-traditional careers, careers that maybe the world has said that's not for you, you can go into robotics, you can be in STEM, whatever. You're going to be strong, smart, and bold, right? So I say all that to say, a lot of applications have come across my desk and I'm like, I have no idea what they're doing, right? The description reads something like, the purpose of this organization is to help people be the best that they can be, and we're serving all people so that we can improve the community. Funders don't fund all funders fund a specific community. So if you're saying that you're serving all people, then you've just lost a funder. Because in my mind, if you're serving all people, if I give you money, you're going to serve all people with my money.
(07:33):
And I'm only funding girls ages five through 17. So if you're serving all people, that means you're serving seniors, you're serving boys, you're serving. And so now I don't want to put that at risk. So I'm going to fund somebody who specifically says, Hey, we serve girls five to 14 or five to 24. That fits within my funding goals. So it's important that your descriptions clearly lets a funder know what it is that you're doing. The last thing I wanted to talk about is your organization name. Your organization name is important. I can't tell you how many people have told me that God gave them the name for their organization. And y'all know I'm not going to mess with God. I'm not going to get involved with that. Religion is very personal and important and divisive. So for a public charity, a public charity is inclusive, a public charity, the purpose is to serve the common good.
(08:35):
There is no division, there is no separation. Yes, there is a focus, but everyone should be able to access your organization. And so when we put religion in there, sometimes funders look at that as exclusive and not inclusive. And I have people say, oh, we accept everybody. It's the ministry. But if it's a particular religion or if it's a particular denomination that comes with people thinking that you practice a certain way. And so I just want you to think about that because my thing is, if God put it on your heart, God wants you to touch people, let your outcomes be a reflection of what God put in your heart and allow people to come into your organization and feel comfortable and feel welcome. So I'm not going to tell you not to put any religious terms in your nonprofit name because that's a personal decision.
(09:39):
I will tell you the truth. It may hinder you from being at the top of the list. It may, may not, but do you want to take that chance? If a funder has five grants to fund and it has 10 applicants, do you want to be eliminated because they found a reason to eliminate you versus your programs? It happens. People, I'm sad to say there are always more applicants than there is money. So I am just trying to share with you some of the tips and tricks of the trade and insider knowledge that lets you know it may not have anything to do with the programs that you're delivering. Your funder may not even get to that point. Your funder may not even get to the point where they can look at the impact that you're making because they have to make some decisions to whittle down that pile before they even get to the decision making part.
(10:37):
If you have five grants that you're trying to give out and you have 25 applicants, you don't go deep. You do a screening eligibility. What are the legal ways that I can eliminate some of these applications? And from a funder's perspective, who's supposed to be funding a public charity? That name could be a very good reason to say, this organization doesn't sound like it's even inclusive. Boom. So just wanted you to think about that because these things make a difference. You want to make sure that your organization is fundable. You want to make sure that you understand what it is that a funder's looking at when they're looking at your application. This goes back to you understanding what it takes to run a nonprofit. It's not just about getting a grant, and it's not just about delivering services. It's about understanding what it takes to run a profitable nonprofit. And as we go into this next commercial, I want you to understand that I'm here to help you not just to get grants, that's a part of it. Of course, diversifying your funding stream, but to help you run your organization like a successful business so that it is here longer than you are. And one of the resources I have to help you do that is what I'm going to feature right now in this next commercial. It's called 90 Days to a Profitable Nonprofit.
(12:05):
Are you struggling to fund your programs? Can't get a grant to save your life. Most consultants will share the what of how to start a nonprofit or how to fundraise. They may even share the why, but they don't share the how because that's where they make their money. Now, I'm not hating. I'm a business woman too, but I've been where you are trying to make the world a better place, struggling to keep the doors open up to the wee hours of the night writing grants and doing whatever needed to be done. And because I've walked in your shoes, I'm not here to make you spend your will, waste your time or your hard earned money. We ain't got time for that. The world needs you. I'm here to show you how to transform that pit. You keep dumping your hard earned money into a profitable nonprofit.
(12:55):
I take my 30 years of nonprofit experience as a founder, executive director, program developer, grant writer in funder, giving out over $7 million annually in grants, and I save you literally thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. I walk you through setting up your nonprofit organization so that you can be generating enough revenue to cover your monthly expenses in just 90 days. How would that feel? Not paying bills from your personal bank account. I share my insider secret tips, tricks of the trade and provide you with a step-by-step roadmap on how to turn your bootstrap organization into a profitable nonprofit. Within six months. You could be generating enough revenue to pay your salary or fully fund your program. The choice is yours, but you have to get the blueprint, and it took me three years to develop it, but it's here and it's going to change your life.
(13:52):
Join my other successful clients who are just like you, full of passion and determination, but they had no idea all that it takes to run and fund a successful nonprofit. Now they're winning grants and drawing a salary, and they know what it is that they're supposed to be doing to run a successful nonprofit. They're no longer making it up as they go. They have the roadmap and they're clear about next steps. And I want that for you too. So what do you get in this course? You'll walk away with knowledge, products, processes, and systems, not just a bunch of promises, but exactly what you need to turn your organization into a profitable nonprofit. I promise you don't need grants. What you need is a solid infrastructure, and this course is going to give you all of that and more. And what's more, it comes with a money back guarantee.
(14:45):
So go ahead, click the link below to register for this course. Welcome to On Air with Amber Wynn, Philanthropreneur. Today we are talking about clarity at a glance, and now we've come to the point of the episode where you get to ask me your questions, ask Amber, listen, I can talk for days and days and hours and hours, but I want to be sure to answer those burning questions that I may not be covering in some of these episode topics. So today's question on Ask Amber comes from Rhonda in Austin, Texas, and she hit me up on Spotify. Y'all know I'm on all of the channels, Instagram, 'em, Facebook, LinkedIn, all of them. So Rhonda hit me up on Spotify and she says, hi, Amber. I want to start a nonprofit to help seniors on a fixed income. Often they have to choose between their medication and food. I'm a licensed cosmetologist and want to provide free services to seniors like once a month. Are there any grants out there to help me start my nonprofit? First of all, Rhonda, how do you do it? Is it this? Is it this? It's this.
(16:00):
Yes, our seniors need your support. They're on a fixed income and girl with this inflation, it's getting challenging and more challenging. So thank you for thinking outside of yourself. And here's my response. No, there aren't any grants out there to help you start your nonprofit. Why? Because funders are not in the business of helping people start businesses. It's counterintuitive to their purpose, their purpose. A funder's purpose is not to fund a nonprofit. A funder's purpose is to accomplish their funding goals. So if their goal is to wipe out cancer, or if their goal is to preserve the earth, that's their goal, and they're going to partner with an organization who is doing that to help them accomplish their goal. They're not paying anybody to start a nonprofit. If you start a nonprofit, it's because you're starting a business and you understand that what comes along with that are business expenses.
(17:10):
So for anybody out there like Rhonda, who wants to know if there are grants out there to start a nonprofit, the answer is no. Your funders want to partner with you to fund programs. If they have to help you start the business, there's a high likelihood they're going to have to help you continue to fund the business. And that is not the purpose, the goal or the intention of funders. They're not here to help you to keep your doors open. That is a business decision that you make when you start a nonprofit. So here's what I will say. Funders don't cover business expenses and it costs between $1,200 like bare bones just to form the organization, but more than likely, it's $25,000. That's more accurate because you've got to set up your infrastructure, your business banking account, you got to get a logo, you have to get systems in place, you got to pay people.
(18:13):
It's a business. You're starting a business, and you can't start a business with $0. I always suggest to people, if you're serious about starting a nonprofit and starting off strong, you should have at least $25,000 that you start with because that way you can pay the people that you need to pay to build out your website and to do your logo and to put your infrastructure in place, you need systems. So if you're trying to start a nonprofit with $0, you're setting yourself up to fail. Do not do it. If you're broke, do not start a nonprofit because the money's not going to just come in. You're just going to dig yourself deeper and deeper in the hole. Rhonda, for you specifically, I want to suggest to you not to start a nonprofit. I want to suggest that if you're only going to provide a service once a month, and that's perfectly fine, you'd be better just to offer your services pro bono.
(19:10):
What does that mean? That means you donate the value of your services to this community. You go in once a month, you do their hair, you do whatever you do as a cosmetologist, their makeup or whatever, and then you write that off at the end of the tax year because you've donated a service to a nonprofit. So that's the other thing. You want to partner with the nonprofit organization that works with seniors, and they don't have to do cosmetology. Maybe they do health, maybe they do wellness, maybe they do, I don't know, advocacy, whatever it is, partner with them. They will work with you and you'll say, okay, you've got the seniors. They've already have the seniors, so you don't have to go look for them. You've got the seniors, I'm going to come in once a month on a Saturday. Well, you're a cosmetologist, so it wouldn't be a Saturday once a month and provide services.
(20:03):
They're going to give you a donor acknowledgement form that says you donated however many hours at the value that you set, and then you can make a difference because you're providing these services. You're not starting a business and you get a tax write off. So that's what I would recommend. I would not recommend if you're only going to deliver programs once a month to start a nonprofit, you still get to make a difference, and you don't have to take on all of the responsibilities of starting a business. If you would like to ask me a question, you can hit me up on any one of my socials. I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook, I'm on Spotify. Just send me your questions and then hopefully I'll get to read them on air. Next, we're moving to my most favorite part of the episode, and that's when we get to learn more about the champions in our community who are doing the work, who are changing lives, closing gaps, and making an impact. And this month, we are featuring an amazing individual who focuses on youth and young adults with autism. Tanika Dole of Chasing Seven Dreams. We are on part three. So sit back, relax, and let's finish listening to what all Tanika has to share with us. From chasing seven Dreams.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Prior to the grant, we had a firework stand. We still do a firework stand. I've always believed in streams of income and board member dues, selling donut cards, just whatever it took. We were bringing in streams of income. So yes, I was fortunate to get the grant, but when you are awarded, it can take 90 days before you even receive your first check. So a part of your grant is to be putting together your staff and doing all the things that you said you were going to do in your grant, which is your activities and preparing to report your data. And so that was something new for me because everything has to match up the transaction, report your data, report your measurements, and everything that you said you were going to do, you have to do it. And it is within the timeline. So I was fortunate enough to have income from our different ways that we brought in streams of income and cover the organization before the check came.
(22:35):
And they don't just give you a check and say, here you go. You have to get your first check. And that kind of gets you started, or I would say reimburse you for what you've put into it. But you can't request your next check until your reports are approved, not just submit it, but they have to be approved. They have to make sure you are doing everything that you said you were doing before they cut your next check. So it's broken up in stages of quarterly. As you report, you get your next check. So that's how that government grant works.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
And we're back and I'm excited to say you guys are amazing and I love just shining the spotlight on you. So if you would like to be featured in my shine on nonprofit, you can be an executive director, a founder, or even if you provide services to nonprofits, I want to be a resource. So I'd love to feature you and what you do to help our amazing individuals out there serve their community more efficiently, more effectively. You can hit me up on any of my socials and let me know that you're interested in being on Shine on nonprofit. Now, as we wrap up, I'm going to share with you my mindset minute. Today we talked about clarity at a glance, and basically what I'm encouraging everybody to do is to just slow down. Don't run into starting a nonprofit without thought, without understanding what every little element means.
(24:25):
Because in a nonprofit in a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status organization, everything has meaning. Nothing has more meaning though than your mission statement because your mission statement is used in so many different ways. When you're writing a grant, you'll see the first thing they ask you, what's your organization's mission? Because the funder needs to see if what you do aligns with their funding goals. So it's important that when you are talking about your organization, be that your organization name, your organization's mission, your program descriptions, that you really take the time to flesh those out, that you really take the time to make sure that they're inspiring, that they are clear. And if a person knows nothing about you, that they have a full understanding of who you are, what you do, who you impact. I always have free resources on my website, so go to www.amberwynn.net and get my free must have 10 must have resource bundles.
(25:34):
There's a ton of information there that will help you flesh out your descriptions, how you should be thinking about starting a nonprofit. If you've been running a nonprofit and it's a little lackluster, some of those resources will help you get a better understanding of what it is you should be doing, how you should be doing it. Yeah, that's what I need you to do. Just slow down. Really take your time. Because when you make those slight chances, and I'm not making this up, I've got plenty of clients who, oh my goodness, they just made a simple shift. One of my clients, she said she served everybody, and we went through it like weeks and weeks, and she's like, okay, Amber, okay, Amber, I'm only going to focus on just girls 11 to 17. The minute she did that, she got three grants. So I know a little bit about what I'm talking about.
(26:27):
Okay? So I'm going to take this journey with you. I'm going to hold your hand. I'm going to explain to you why I recommend the things that I recommend. You don't have to just trust me. You can go and investigate on your own research. You'll come back and realize that what I'm telling you is true because I want you to be successful. So when we talk about your programs, your descriptions, your mission statement, I want you just to slow down and really just sit with what it is that you want, those words to reflect about your organization. Okay? So I will see you next week, but until I do, I want you to take care of yourself, like you take care of your community.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe and leave a review on iTunes. Head over to www.amberwynn.net/podcast for the links and resources mentioned in today's podcast. See you next time.
