The Million Dollar Question

The first question I ask a non profit when I meet with their director or board members is “If I raised you a million dollars what would you do with it?”

It’s amazing what ideas they come up with when they think in terms of having the monies already in their treasury. I posed this question to a camp for people with disabilities. They came up with the idea to have a man-made lake with a beach for swimming and fishing.

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Another non profit that helps cancer patients wanted a bui9lding where they could do intakes in a private, comfortable atmosphere as well as have enough room to host cancer benefits. Here is their dream coming to fruition.

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Another non profit had trouble coming up with a consensus because they all had different ideas how they would use the funds. They help homeless veterans. Services range from basic needs, to education and counseling to permanent housing. Each board member wanted the monies so they could fulfill their department’s needs. They actually were bickering on whom would get the monies to serve their department before I even raised them one dollar. After hearing their concerns we came up with a plan to raise them over $10 million dollars and have enough for each department to fulfill their needs. They are doing an amazing job on reaching their dream to help thousands of veterans.

Kids and Fundraising

Every so often I see a young person in the news who raised money for a non profit. They raise a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand dollars. I’m so glad when the news reports this positive endeavor. It always brings a smile to my face. I always give to a young child when he or she asks me to donate. They learn a very valuable lesson about being a generous person that they will carry with them into adulthood. They should be recognized by the community for helping someone less fortunate than themselves. Most schools have you ask your family and friends which is a great place to start. To ask total strangers for help has got to be a tough lesson as they may get turned down by some people. We are teaching our young people to be our next generation of donors by giving to them whenever they ask for our help now. Don’t disappoint them. They are learning the most valuable lesson from how adults behave when they are asked to be generous.