Case Study: Penny Harris, Mission Centered Fundraising

Hey everyone, Scott Perry here, Chief Difference Maker at Creative On Purpose, with one of my favorite rockstar clients, Penny Harris. Penny, welcome to the broadcast. Please tell everyone a little bit about who you are, what you do, and a little bit about your business.

Thank you, and it's fun to be here with you, Scott. I'm going to start like you often do with— I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother, I'm a sister and a friend, I'm a fundraising coach, and I'm an innovator. And I, just to explain that, I will connect with a story about fundraising. Back when I was about 8 or 9 years old, my dad gave me an allowance. It was 25 cents, so that was wonderful. And I put 5 cents of it, he required I would have to give to the church. But what I do remember is sitting in that church and putting my nickel in the plate and feeling part of the community. So that became, I think, the foundation for my interest in giving, and it turned out to be for fundraising.

That's fantastic. I didn't mean to cut you off, Penny. I'm sorry about the little— my do not disturb function was not working. So we had a little, little notification glitch. You and I have been working together for a long time. I've known, you know, we connected in Seth Godin's Akimbo workshops way back when, and I've been following your work, and we've been working together for a long time. And at some point, you decided, you know, that there was a challenge happening in your life before we started working together. So what was the big challenge for you before we started working together?

Well, it's really connected with my fundraising. I had gone to the workshop that I met you in to better my marketing, to figure out, and then of course the learning working with you is I didn't really understand what I was marketing. So I had to step way back and I have, I, this was not part of my experience. I had been a community leader and mother and very involved in community. I had done a lot of fundraising, and it was always a part of the community. I thought you just go out and talk to people. I have done a lot of professional work over 30 years now. And about 10 years or so of consulting and now coaching. And I just felt that money, that fundraising was just so much on money. And it was, we were losing people, not only donors, but fundraisers. And so it caused me to dig in. And that's what I was doing when I met you, but I had no real plan or an understanding of what the work was that was coming up for me.

Yeah, so a lot. I think we were all in that marketing seminar because we were trying to resolve our kind of love-hate or maybe hate-hate relationship with this idea of marketing. One of the things that you said though is actually kind of something that we've worked on. Like at the heart of it, marketing is just really having the right kind of conversations with the right people. And you know, that's something that I think you've been doing ever since you have been, you know, doing this work in fundraising. But at a certain point you decided that you were going to reach out and work with me. And what was it specifically that made you decide to reach out to me as, you know, when you were seeking a coach instead of somebody else?

Right. Well, at the time I was working on what it was that I wanted to change fundraising to. And so I was working with another coach and I developed this mission-centered fundraising and I worked with another coach who helped me, um, founded my business, which is Renewable Philanthropy, which is about keeping donors. And, um, so I needed a coach like you that kind of put everything, helped me put what I'd already done together, and how do I move myself forward. And it just wasn't a real simple thing because I had now designed this mission-centered fundraising which focused on individual donors, which was designed because donors don't have any— they don't know any system. They don't know how to connect or who to connect or money or how it's spent because everybody's chasing to get donors who can give the biggest gift. So for me, it was how do I put this together? How do I think about it?, and then communicate it in a way that people are gonna say, "Oh, I wanna learn more about that." And I now have Mission-Centered Fundraising, which is an annual system for fundraisers and CEOs that is about the, the mission and, and how it serves human and other needs in the community. How to create human-to-human interactions so that you understand what you're doing in the community as a donor and as a fundraiser. And then what are the results? What are we selling to the advantage of having stronger, more caring, better communities to live in is because we're working together, donors, people in the community, people in the staff and the board of the organization. So I see it all as a, as a team working together, serving a mission for the community.

Yeah, and your work is so important and your offer is so powerful, and it's really been thrilling to, to see your increasing clarity about what your offer is and who it's for and the change that you're seeking to make, but also to see the growing confidence that you have in putting the word out. Your, your outreach on social media is just really inspiring. What in particular about our working together was really helpful? Why was our coaching so effective for you?

Well, I think when I think back of the times, first it was having you connect with me and the marketing seminar and the questions you asked me. I thought were, wow, those were good questions and made me think. And then as I worked with you, you have a sense of patience. I don't feel that you're trying to push me anywhere. You're trying to give me the space and the encouragement and to be patient. I love— my favorite thing is take baby steps. And if you think your next step might be too big, see if you can make a smaller one. And that has made a huge difference. In just giving me more patience with my learning. And I think I wouldn't be doing this without you because your process has given me the space to create these insights that I need to do my work that I want to do.

Well, I really appreciate that. Well, what's happened for you and your business since we've been working together?

Well, I still— I was doing more consulting than I am right now because I decided that I I really want to spend all my time on mission-centered fundraising and talk to people and get that going. So I have a, I call it a roundtable, a couple of times a month with, and invite fundraisers, and I'm going to start including CEOs in the discussion because I've had a few ask me if they could be involved. And kind of me to help learn what are they, how do they, how would How would what I do help them so that we can have interactions? And I have a goal this year of having a webinar together, and I will do one-on-one coaching now and anytime to, to work with the fundraiser and the CEO to help establish mission-centered fundraising as the operation for managing individual donors so that they want to stay because they know what's expected, they know where to get information, and they can be a part of the organization. And I have a plan for 4 times to meet with me, and that should give them the information and the plan. To what their next steps will be, and then the rest depends on them.

So, Claire, you know what I love about— I mean, in so many ways, what you do is just common sense. No, the organization should be, you know, standing in and behind the mission because that's what the donors are donating to, and that's what the beneficiaries are receiving. And yet it's just amazing how in your world, it becomes so focused on just treating fundraising organizations, treating donors like ATM machines, and almost as an afterthought, thinking about the beneficiaries. And in so many ways, your offer is so powerful because you're just reminding everyone about why we really have been connecting in the first place. So, so, so powerful.

I just would like to add too, I think the reason, because I get those comments like that on my on my posts on LinkedIn. And because in nonprofits there's just this dislike for fundraising, they see it as asking for money and there's no reciprocity, which isn't true. And so there's a, there's this, they don't take the time they need to take to really establish what is your mission? Who is it for? What and how does it serve the community? And what are the results? If we could talk really clearly, which is what I hope to do or want to do with people about that, it's going to be different because they won't be getting caught up in the asking for money thing, which isn't— it's what we need, but it isn't what we're doing.

Well, you've been crystal clear in your messaging, and it's been really inspiring to witness that. Where do you think you would have been right now if 3 or so years ago we hadn't started our work together?

I think I would have just quit. I had the mess of having the— I think working with you, I have learned to identify what kind of, I'm gonna use the word mess, but I don't mean disrespectfully, the fundraising, because fundraisers work really hard. They're smart, good people, me. And so I want, without having some skills, without some knowledge, and without being able to develop a process with which I can bring this out, I think I would get lost and just not doing it because I have to have what I've learned with working with you that I didn't have.

I'm so glad that we collided and that you didn't quit and that we've been able to do this great work together. For anyone that's watching this, they've probably been thinking about connecting with me. For some time and they just haven't quite gotten ready to pull the trigger on completing the questionnaire or booking that discovery call. What would you tell, say to anyone that's kind of on the fence about going ahead and booking that free 15-minute call with me to help get a little bit of clarity about their strategy?

Right. I would tell them, encourage them to call you because, and to just present you'd like to, if they would like to explore their idea with to you because I think you're fair and you're open and you're patient and you're curious and you want to work with people who match up and who want to do this kind of thing. And with a talk with you, they'll find out how well and how excited they are about doing it, and then they can make the decision. And I think you are very respectful that way. You were with me, so Yeah.

Fantastic, Penny. Well, it is a thrill always to spend some time with you, and I'm sure we'll be spending time again together in the future. And just, you know, thank you so much for sharing a little bit about what you're doing and about our work together and how it's impacted the progress that you've been making. And I'm still— I will always be cheering you on. Your work is so important. It is making such an impact. So thank you again for your time here today.

Thank you. Thank you, Scott Perry.