A SHIFT IN NON-PROFIT FUNDRAISING

Are you aware of the fact that the economic climate affects not only individual households in our nation, but also the great non-profit organizations that take responsibility for improving our society? As budgets get tight, donations decrease, and organizations take in less to run their budgets with. This causes more organizations to compete for grants that are available through tax dollars and private foundations. The progression of creative ideas in raising funding for programming has been:

1. Face-to-face networking where the leaders and board members of an organization would go out and network with leaders in the Business Community and ask for donations to help the organization. Wealthy individuals and business giants looking to improve their public profiles would generously give to help the non-profits.

2. But more and more charitable organizations were formed and the trend moved towards event fundraising. Balls, auctions, dinners, luncheons, golf tournaments, etc. became an accepted way to raise funds for the charities. Volunteers were needed to organize and implement planning and physical tasks associated with a successful event fundraiser.

3. As the years passed and it became necessary for more families to have two incomes to run their households, volunteerism decreased. The 20/80 rule factors in where we always see 20% of the people doing 80% of the work, and fewer people have been willing or able to devote that kind of commitment.

4. As foundations were established to manage charitable donations to worthwhile organizations, and government grants were set up to facilitate a fair and equitable division of tax dollars set aside to help non-profits, more and more boards of directors moved towards training individuals in grant writing.

5. As the number of non-profits competing for grants increased, creative grant writers began to partner with each other to increase their chances of being awarded funding.

6. The trend moved towards businesses partnering with organizations and giving them a “referral commission” for advertising their products or services to their memberships.

7. And now we see THE SHIFT or movement towards an awakening in understanding of the ongoing monthly residual income that is associated with network marketing/multi-level marketing partnerships. As individuals responsible for the decision making of funding proposals become educated in the distribution method known as MLM/network marketing, we see more non-profit organizations embracing the concept and enjoying a continual stream of monthly income for their charities’ programming.

This new trend in fundraising has its issues though. It goes against the grain for many people because of a lack of understanding. The history of network marketing has not been smooth. There has been a stigma on MLM/network marketing because of a few who ran scams, Ponzi schemes and pyramids. But direct sales, network marketing and MLM are legitimate business structures and effective distribution solutions for many companies. There are honest, ethical MLM companies out there that operate with integrity. So now it becomes a matter of educating individuals so they have full comprehension of the legitimacy of this powerful ongoing residual income that could be available to their organizations to help fund programming. As more and more non-profits move towards adding an appropriate MLM company to their fundraising portfolio, the negativity associated with this structure will dissipate and we will see a more open-minded and positive acceptance of this powerful funding option. The fact is, building a customer base can be very lucrative if the MLM selected has a consumable product. When you have a consumable product, or reoccurring service charge, you have a built-in reorder business. You do the work once, and you get paid over and over again.

Building a down-line of reps can also be lucrative because the nonprofit now makes a little referral commission on each rep they sign and they continue to make money on everything that the reps produce. How easy is it for them to build a team of reps? Are you aware that there are over 175,000 people joining an MLM on the Internet each week? There is a new home-based business started every 12 seconds. The US alone has over 38 million home-based businesses. More than 2/3rds of Americans would prefer to be self-employed. 44% of home-based businesses are started for less than $5,000. Over $427 Billion dollars is made per year by home-based businesses. 70% of home-based businesses succeed within three years as opposed to 30% of the traditional brick and mortar businesses. Sobering facts. YOUR favorite non-profit organization or charity could be taking advantage of these figures by joining a network marketing company…not only for the fundraising aspect, but also to help that segment of the population that are seriously looking for a good company to join, and would appreciate being able to help their favorite charity out while they build a business and extra income for themselves.

I personally use network marketing as a ministry to help pastors, missionaries and non-profits raise needed funding for specific needs and programming. Most people may not be aware that some denominations and a lot of the smaller independent churches do not offer retirement programs for their pastors. This is also true for missionaries. In addition, there are pastors who make very little and must supplement their incomes with outside work. Many missionaries are also responsible for raising the money necessary to fund their ongoing work. Many of the companies that I am with see more pastors and churches coming on board with each month that passes. There seems to be a conscious awareness of the wisdom of building a strong foundation with a company that will provide ongoing monthly residual income for years to come.

So how does this work for a church? There are several options. The church can join and let the congregation know of the opportunity to purchase the products or services through their website, a letter to the membership, or a newsletter. For those in the membership who may also be looking for a way to make a little extra money by working a side project from home, joining the company under the church would grow the monthly residual income coming into the organization. Some pastors join and then have the church join under them. Other pastors have the church join and then join under the church. Some missionary groups join and use the funds generated to support missionaries in the field, or to fund missionary trips. If they have a school, food bank or outreach ministry, they could sign up that entity under the church. Another option is for the national or parent group to sign first and then have the individual churches sign under them. If you have a denomination that has state and regional structures, funding for all groups could be accomplished with a little forethought and planning. If it is an independent church, sharing with other churches in a ministerial association would help several groups.

Secular organizations are also beginning to understand the power of the MLM structure for funding programming for their organizations also. It is so simple to place a link on the official website that connects their membership to the products or services and also affords those individuals looking to generate an extra stream of income, the opportunity to join under the organization. This now allows the non-profit to benefit from everything their member builds. Again, this would be an ongoing monthly residual income. It would take a little work to get set up initially, but once you get a customer base and/or a down-line established, then the money comes in month after month after month. Again, a little wisdom in laying down the foundation could pay off in raising monthly residual income for several organizations. If the organization has a national, state and/or regional structure, have the top organization join first and the other organizations join under them. If there is no structure and the non-profit stands alone, they can share with other non-profits they are associated with from Chambers of Commerce or other associations. Exactly how does a non-profit organization select the right MLM to join? The same way an individual would select a company to join or a company to invest in. They would need to have open minds and listen to proposals. They would need to research and follow some established guidelines their committee sets up. Just know that there are many good choices and one can be found that would be a good fit for just about any charitable organization I can think of.

EIGHT STEPS TO SELECTING A COMPANY TO PARTNER WITH:

1. How long has the company been in business? Companies in pre-launch or new start-ups offer excellent foundational positioning, but are a gamble and a lot of work. 95% of new start-ups do not make it past the first year. Most tools and resources are not developed yet, because it is the pioneers in a company that usually develop those. Young companies under 2 years are, in my opinion, not for the weak of heart and definitely not for non-profit organizations. I would recommend a company that is past their second anniversary and has had the opportunity to stabilize themselves.

2. Are you comfortable with the owners and management team? Do they have the experience to take the company into the future? Are they ethical, honest, and committed to working with integrity? Would you be proud to associate your name with theirs? If you have the opportunity, try to have a representative or your committee group visit the corporate offices to get a feel for the company, products, management team and owners.

3. Take a look at the product line or the service they provide. Is the quality there? Does it have real value? Most MLM companies have good quality products, otherwise they would not last. Remember, this is word of mouth advertising, and if the products do not deliver, they cannot stay in business. If you have a great product or service to offer, it is much easier for your membership to have belief in the product line. That belief is crucial to everyone sharing so the business grows and commissions are earned for the charity. But the belief factor goes beyond just the product line. Everyone must have belief in not only the products, but the management team, the comp plan, the owners, the resources, the tools, the training…in essence, belief in everything about the company. If you can accomplish that belief among your membership – then you will have something solid to build with.

4. Are there established marketing and sales resources available? Young companies usually lack in this area, so do investigate what is available to aid you in building. If the company is strong in this area, then it is a plus for your organization. If not, and other things are in place, then you would want to try to see if you have members who have talents in that area that could pitch in and help design some things for you to use.

5. Is training and guidance available to you? Investigate the training that will be made available to you. Is there corporate training? Will you have strong up-line guidance and training that you will have access to? Will there be someone to help you design a plan of action for your organization?

6. Does the company provide good customer service? This is crucial. You need to know how they handle problems and issues. When is customer service available to retail consumers and also to reps? Do they have the right attitudes toward customer service?

7. Is the product or service backed by a solid guarantee? How much belief does the company hold in their product? What is the return ratio?

8. Is the company committed to being legally compliant in all jurisdictions they are open in? This is a commitment that you want to make sure the company is willing to be steadfast in.

Researching and partnering with the right company will ensure success in your endeavor. Traditional fundraising companies are rarely able to provide an ongoing residual income from a one-time sale. The benefits of setting up the residual income with a good MLM company is that the orders will continue to come in on a monthly basis for years to come, providing ongoing funding for worthwhile programming that will benefit our society in many ways.

As the paradigm shift begins, and more and more non-profits begin to embrace this fundraising opportunity, I foresee charitable organizations being able to enjoy stability in funding that will enable great and wonderful achievements that will advance the quality of life for many people.