Recharging Batteries for New Opportunities

Greetings!

You might be asking yourself, where in the world has Jessica been?! Real Deal Fundraising hasn’t had anything new since early May!

Well, I’ve been doing two important things:

1. I’ve been raising a LOT of money.

​Our year ended with three big fundraising events in New Orleans. Those events were breakaway successes for our organization. For the entire fiscal year, we tripled overall fundraising, bringing 301% more dollars than FY16. We’ve implemented a new fundraising model this year and I plan to share the details about it with you on this blog soon. (Here's me and my hubby at our Gala celebrating the success of this year.)

2. I’ve been recharging my own batteries.

​I revamped, redecorated, and organized my office. I went to a three day yoga retreat. I spent quality time with my husband and kids. I re-dedicated myself to my health. I worked on some work planning and worked on my thesis a bit. (I’m graduating with my M.A. in English Literature in December.) But those things were NOT my focus.  (Below you'll see me after completing my very first 1 hour long run and then me and my favorite girl at yoga in the park.)

And here’s the amazing thing: things have been happening and coming to me.

I got an inspired idea for our fall direct mail and email campaign. My thesis revisions went much more smoothly than I expected. And I have ton of ideas for this blog and for the community I want to build around it in the future.

To that end, I have a few announcements:

• First, I’ll be doing only monthly blog posts this year. I want to focus on consistency and quality rather than volume and then burning out and going dark for months. My posts will be long form and filled with useful info you can apply to your fundraising plan. This will also give me more time to publish more instructional e-books and engage more deeply with those of you who contact me with questions.
• Now is the PERFECT time of year to turn your attention to phonathon staffing strategy. To that end, I’m putting my e-book, How to Staff Your Phonathon Super-Fast on sale for 25%-OFF. That's only $37.50 for this essential guide. The coupon code is AUG2017 and it is good through the end of August. You need access to these innovative strategies now to get staff with incredible young fundraisers as quickly as possible for maximum dollars raised! This 57-page guide is absolutely crammed with actionable information, templates, formulas, and samples ready for any phonathon manager to implement immediately. Here's the best part, this guide not only teaches you how to staff up fast but how to KEEP the great callers you hire for as long as possible so that you move into an upward spiral of positive results and get off the hamster wheel of perpetual caller turnover.
• Lastly, I have a (very) limited number of spots open this year for consulting jobs.

If you feel your department could use a tune-up or needs some specific help, please contact me and let’s talk about it. I absolutely love teaching fundraising and it appeals to a different side of me than my “day job” work.
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Here are some of the things that I can help you with as a consultant:

• Conducting bench-marking studies and development audits
• Facilitating the strategic planning process and drafting tactical plans
• Analysis of you institution’s culture of philanthropy
• Copywriting assistance for direct mail, planned giving materials, and major gift proposals
• Development of annual giving, social media, and day of giving plans
• Training for new development staff
• Policy creation and procedural documentation

I can look at one aspect of your program (phonathon, major gifts, etc.) or at your entire shop. I could do the analysis via distance (looking at reports and interviewing your staff via phone or video chat) or I could come to you in person. I do have a full-time position though and need to schedule early and work everything together seamlessly.

I’m excited about this new opportunity to continue teaching and helping institutions reach their fundraising potential.

Contact me here and let’s chat.

Cheers,

Jessica Cloud, CFRE

PS - If you liked this post, you might also like these: 

• Goals versus projections
• What should a strategic plan contain?
• Planning for the Unexpected
• Conducting a Benchmarking Study
• My Exhaustive Event Planning Checklist

PPS - If you found this article helpful, please comment and let me know. Also subscribe to Real Deal Fundraising so you don't miss a post! You'll get my  guide to Call Center Games for Free!​​​

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