“Ah, mastery… what a profoundly satisfying feeling when one finally gets on top of a new set of skills… and then sees the light under the new door those skills can open, even as another door is closing.” –Gail Sheehy
You have heard people complain that giving money away is difficult to do right. Despite the title, this short article will not make you a master at giving back. Instead, it gives you three excellent and reusable tools to create mastery.
Beware here. Even if they aren’t helpful, some nonprofits will say, “yes” to your offers. They don’t want to discourage you. Responding to real needs requires truth telling and more often than not creative problem solving. It takes expertise to match what people can and want to give with real needs. Listen carefully. To master giving back, consider working with a consultant to help you to find a way to give back that fits your needs and solves a real need.
In many cases, this need for cash bumps you to the front of the line. One nonprofit’s volunteer experience helping with meals is so popular it has three-month wait list. Your offer to help, matched with a cash gift, allows you to pick your date. Anytime! Cash offers star power. My customers are continually amazed (and pleased) at the way relationships positively change when they give cash.
To master giving back, give cash as well as in-kind goods and services, respond to real needs. Rinse and repeat your many successes.
Karen Eber Davis Consulting guides executive directors and CEOs to generate the resources, boards, and support they need to make remarkable progress on their missions. As the award-winning thought-leader, advisor, and founding principal of Karen Eber Davis Consulting, Karen helps nonprofit leaders get answers, generate revenue, and grow their mission. Davis is known for her innovation and practicality based on her work with or visits to over 1,000 nonprofit organizations and her experience leading board and team events. She is the author of 7 Nonprofit Income Streams and Let's Raise Nonprofit Millions Together.