Fundraising and Social Innovation

Fundraising and Social Innovation

Tina Crouse, Strategist

 In just finishing a guest lecture for the University of Northern British Columbia, I realize again, how ingrained the idea of grant writing and fundraising is to non-profits. But I know that world is changing and I feel somewhat awkward in teaching people how to do that better, while firmly believing that Canada's granting system is in decline and will not be the mainstay of funding in the fairly near future.

So what else can I offer students and non-profit clients so that they can take heart that their world will not crumble without grants ? Social Innovation.

Social Enterprise Bonds

Social Enterprise Bonds

Tina Crouse, Strategist

For awhile now, I've been working on developing a concept for a Canadian Social Enterprise Bond. There are some already in existence in Canada (for example the Social Innovation Series C Bond ) usually guaranteed through real estate and in combination with a host of partners and a non-profit. Others are working on a Social Impact Bond similar to those in the U.K. (see Social Impact Bonds). What I'm interested in doing is generating a completely new pool of dollars for non-profits to draw upon to create a social enterprise (business) to support and sustain their mission but not necessarily tied to social outcomes (U.K. bond) or guaranteed by real estate. I'm interested in providing Canadians with socially responsible investment dollars, the chance to do good right here in Canada, similar to how we enthusiastically invest off-continent in Micro Finance ventures.

Using Polls to Improve Blogs

Using Polls to Improve Blogs

Photo by Gregory Szarkiewicz

The other night I was helping a friend who operates a non-profit. He has one main funder who changed the rules and now requires the one revenue stream be accounted for in all projects. Problem is, he now has 17 projects (I kid you not !) and no bookkeeper - absolute insanity.

My advice - you need a bookkeeper. He knew that but he also needed to hear that the functionality of his organization and his role would improve with the contracting out of bookkeeping. He needed to know how to make his case and my advice was helpful.

Blogs should operate the same way.

Female Social Entrepreneur Wins Honour

Female Social Entrepreneur Wins Honour

Daphne Nederhorst is a wonder. She's also this year's Runner-Up for BC Business Magazine's Social Entrepreneur of the Year. And the wonder ? Her business is eliminating poverty.

Fundraising: Lay your Cards on the Table

Tina Crouse, Strategist

It's an interesting thing, the English language; two people can say the same word or words and very different things are understood. When you're playing a card game for instance, someone can say, 'Put your card on the table' and if you know all the rules of the game, you'll lay it down correctly. If you don't, then not only do you not know where to put the card but you also don't know whether to put it face up or face down. You can guess the results when you don't know that last rule.

Not Your Father's Marketing

Tina Crouse, Strategist                 

Agreed: Not Your Father's Marketing

In a new article by Prof. D. Steven White of the University of Massachusetts, Its-not-your-fathers-marketing- he talks about the huge gap between what is being taught as marketing in the universities and the experience of businesses on the ground. Anyone trying to capture people's attention today knows this gap is wide. Additionally, the young marketers graduating from university are wondering what they paid for because Inbound Marketing is completely absent from the curriculum and yet, that's exactly the way most youth purchase today - through recommendations and referrals and whatever they could find on the web; not what we pushed at them.

Successful pathways: not always visible or direct

Tina Crouse, Strategist

Successful pathways: not always visible or direct

My friend, Carol Shaben, is a fantastic writer, national award winner  and one of Canada's 'instant' success stories. Here's a video from her publisher, Knopf Random  House Knopf-acquires-title-two-hours-after-receiving-manuscript . If you ask Carol, she has no explanation for the sudden success; it was a random, twisted road with an unanticipated outcome. So why would anyone use strategies to help their organizations if success is so random ?

Efficient Strategies

Tina Crouse, Strategist

 Efficient Strategies

There are a myriad of ways to be efficient, or so we think, but when you get right down to it, without a strategy - "what do you want to do, when do you want to do it, how do you want to do it and how the heck do you prove that you're doing it ? " Well then, it probably isn't efficient; it's just plain work.

Do you have the time to work all the time ? (repetitive but on-point)

When you use strategies to improve your work, you'll know when you're being efficient. You'll strive to be because a good day's work really does feel good. If we all could work to our optimum abilities, life just might become fun. This goes double for small businesses and non-profits. These kind of organizations are known for eating up time, for flaying their owners and employees from the moment the clock starts in the morning until late at night when it's still ticking in people's heads. They aren't known to be more efficient than other work places, they just work harder.