We must be inclusive in fundraising

I recently met with a development person from an organization that we support financially. We are new to LA and they were one of the first organizations we donated to upon our arrival one year ago. Our first donation was not our last, and now we are "members" as well as being vocal supporters.

NOTE: As long as I have been writing this blog and as long as I have had my @FundraiserDan Twitter account, I have gone out of my way to keep my fundraising world separate from my personal world. With this encounter that I am writing about, I believe it's necessary to bring in my personal life. I won't necessarily make a habit of it.

Donors come from all walks of life. We are different genders, races, martial statuses, gender identities, orientations (as in sexual), faiths, classes and this list could go on and on.

We as development professionals and fundraisers need to be inclusive. Yes, there are some non-profits that might not want donations from certain parts of society, yet for me, serving and agency that advocates for abused kids, I work to be as inclusive as possible, and as honorable as possible to all donors.

I say "I work to be" because I give it an honest try. I may not always succeed.

From how we use salutations in our donor letters to how we refer to a donor's significant other, to how and who we thank, this is something we really need to pay attention to.

As a donor and a huge supporter, I was pretty disappointed when the development person I was meeting with referred to my husband as my partner. In our conversations prior I had used the term husband and even in that same conversation I had used the word husband twice.

I'm sure it was not her intention, but in one swift sentence, she demeaned my marriage.

Too sensitive, no way. This is a new world. Yes, gay people are actually married these days (and have been for over 10 years.) Let the donor inform you as to how you should be referred to or as, and I did that.

Yes, not all gay couples are married, or want to be. I am, and I very much do.

We have to pay attention to this. And not only this. Gender pronouns are important, as is making sure we thank the wife if she is the donor or at least both people in the couple. Too many donors are thanked via their spouse and their spouse only.

If you don't know, ask. I assure you there will not be any offense taken. In fact, you might just catapult the level of your donor relationship.

Thanks for reading.

August is almost December in the fundraising world

Yes, it's already August.

August is the time I create our end of year fundraising plan. What does it look like? What would success look like? Who is involved? When does it officially begin?

August is the time to create your end of year fundraising plan. Invite your team for a meeting. Ask everyone to bring their calendars, creativity and ideas.

Sitting down with your elite team of fundraisers and development staff (you choose who this is for you) start plugging in dates. I start further out and work back. For example, when do do I actually want our first direct mail piece of the campaign to land? I write that in and then work back all the way to the date where we first discuss the piece.

Who do I want to be involved in the end of year fundraising? Do we do just one mailing or more? Any events?

#GivingTuesday is right in the middle of my typical campaign so I have begun using that to support my efforts. Any board or other donor holiday parties or gatherings can be helpful too.

Then there all of the face to face meetings with donors, my favorite!

Finally, when everyone else is taking off, the last few days of the year here are spent calling every donor who gave the year prior but has not yet given. It could be several hundred calls. Where I currently work, our office is actually closed the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Yet the development team is here making calls, answering the phones and making sure we are here for any last minutes donor needs. Then we take the next week off!

How you work your end of year fundraising is all up to you. It can be the most fun part of your year. The main thing is to start planning it now.

Thanks for reading!

3 quick actions for today

It's Friday.

We all have our own rituals throughout the week, and on Fridays I like to have a long list of action items for the day. I try not to schedule any off-property meetings and focus on one thing: donor relationships.

Three actions that are consistent for Fridays with me are:

Call a donor. Or several donors. Not a donor who is getting close to their time for the annual donation. A donor who you just want to say hi and thank you to.

Do a site tour with a donor. Some of you might not have this option. In that case invite a donor for a coffee. Yes, face to face time with the donor is the key here.

Spend some time on your next current-donor mail appeal. It might not be for another few months, but some creative time spent today will totally pay off. Remember, donor-centered.

I absolutely love time with donors. If you are new in fundraising and still uncomfortable with calling a donor or meeting with a donor, I promise that the more you do the more comfortable and even fun it gets. Your passion for the mission of your agency and the donor's passion/vision for the mission can only grow stronger when you spend time with them.

Thanks for reading!

Working on your next annual budget?

Another budget season is upon us and although this is the time of year where many in non-profit leadership go crazy, I must admit that I am a budget geek. I love creating budgets. After inheriting a couple of budgets that seemed unrealistic at best and after several years of experience in creating budgets that support programs without putting board members in a position of saying "where in the heck is that money going to come from", I'd like share a few thoughts that might make your budget process a little more fun, or at the least help create a process that doesn't leave you dreading the next one.

These might be oversimplified for some, but even then they might be a good reminder.

For me, budgeting is an ongoing process. Every team member in development has a budget sheet that they add to throughout the year. Whether it's a training they might want to attend next year, new staff, a new fundraising event or a new fundraising campaign, everyone keeps a list and we go over the lists throughout the year. We also make notes about whether the current budget we are working in made sense.

An easy way to start the budget process is to simply ask program folks how much money they need to do the mission and development folks how much money they think they can raise. If those numbers match (ha!) then you are good to go. My experience is that there will be a good amount of money in between the two. But at least you have a start.

In the non-profit world we do not create target budgets. We do not set a goal for fundraising and hope we get there. This is one of the key difference between us and the for-profit world. This means no pie-in-the-sky revenue budget. If a non-profit isn't making budget, cuts have to made. You never want to be in this position.

Have a plan for any increase in revenue. I have seen budgets where individual giving increased 200% with no plan in place as to how that was going to happen. It sure is easy to just add revenue here and there, but someone is going to have to raise that money, and if they don't then we're in a situation like I mentioned in the prior paragraph. There are many times when it's easier in the moment to just add revenue here and there to make up the difference between revenue and expense. Don't do it unless there is a clear, realistic action plan to raise that revenue.

Have a finance committee go over your budget. This typically happens as part of the budget process. I want finance committee members to particularly pay attention to increases in revenue based on forecasted revenue for the year, not budgeted. This is very important because if you have a budget line that is below in revenue yet create a line item for next year based on what was budgeted, you are comparing apples to oranges. This can easily happen with events and individual giving, and create tough times for you next year.

Here's an example: You have $500,000 budgeted for individual giving and are forecasting ending the year with $350,000 in individual giving revenue. When working on next year's budget you increase your line item to $600,000 which means next year you need to raise $250,000 more than the year prior! Don't do it!

Finally, someone needs to support decisions made by the development team in regards to revenue. If something really doesn't feel good in reference to revenue and your ability as a team to raise, don't budget it. That's not always easy, yet in the end you, your team, your staff and those you serve will be so much better off.

Thanks for reading!

One in five children

This is one of those posts that will typically not get a lot of reads. When I write about topics like poverty, hunger or HIV/AIDS, many tend to skip the post.

I will keep this post short.

The federal government released poverty numbers this past week.

One in five children in California live in poverty.

One is six children in the US live in poverty.

No matter why you read my blog or why you connect with me personally, I ask you to please consider these numbers.

So much wealth. So much privilege. Yet so many live in poverty.

As fundraisers and people who work with non-profits, we can take action. We can also build bridges with communities whose main mission is not ours, and become stronger. We can find connections with our work to poverty, to hunger and to class. In the Los Angeles area, where I live, it is not difficult to see hard-core class distinction.

If you would like more information on poverty in the US, please click here.

Thank you for reading.

Passion for the mission

I think of this often.

Does a member of your fundraising team need to have a passion for the mission of the non-profit?

I say yes.

I bring it up often when interviewing. I believe hiring the right people for your team is the first key to a successful fundraising team. Or any team for that matter. And I talk a lot about our mission when interviewing.

After all, we serve youth experiencing homelessness, youth who have nothing. We don't do the mission or the youth any justice if we can have folks out there building relationships in the community who don't have a passion for our work.

It's not difficult to figure out in the interview process. As a fundraiser, I want my team to have as many tools as possible to take out and build relationships and partnerships with. Their work will be so much easier if they are passionate for the cause.

Another reason I want members of team to be passionate for the mission is that I will know that coming to work and rocking it will fulfill them personally. Between being personally fulfilled, working with other who are equally passionate for the mission, being empowered and supported on all levels, and working with an elite team of fundraisers they will inevitably love their work!

I would love to hear what other fundraisers think.

Thanks for reading!

I started using lists

There seems to be  a lot of solid opinions on whether or not making lists help with finishing tasks or don't help.

For years I have met folks, speaking of fellow fundraisers here, who make lists and they work from them. I always thought that this was a great idea for them and I'm glad it worked for them.

Then, last year, while preparing for our weekly development team meeting, I realized that I was one of those fundraisers who works from a list. Just like that! And I had been doing it for some time.

You see, every Monday morning I prepare for our weekly team meetings. I create a list of items I want to chat with the team about and during our meeting we go over those items. Then, that LIST becomes a check off of items I will work on for the week.

It could include meeting with a particular staff member, something to bring up with my boss, starting an event invitation or working and working on a direct mail piece.

The simple fact is that for me, starting the week with a list of items, regardless of whether or not they are already on my calendar or in notes or whatever else I use to plan, helps me considerably.

It shows me the intensity of the week.

It allows me to celebrate as I cross things off.

It keeps me focused, which does not come natural to me.

It allows to continually throughout the week check in with others about what we are working on, how things are going with those items, and how others can support.

I could on. I won't.

For me, lists work. Or should I say, a Monday morning list for the week works for me.

I have met many fundraisers and work with many fundraisers. I realize we all have our tools that support us and the successes we have. This may or may not work for you. I wanted to share it because it works for me.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading!

January fundraising

Yes, I am aware that January is almost over! My has it flown by. I still think it's relative for fundraisers to talk about making January an awesome month.

As a fundraiser, January has always been an interesting month. In most of my positions I have breathed a sigh of relief in early January or been devastated by a failed end of year effort. In some cases I have been able to create a quite strong fundraising month in January based on rigorous efforts and relationship-building in December.

At my current agency we run a fiscal year that goes from October to September. No craziness in December as far as making budget but we still rock it due to it being an important month of giving for our donors.

So what do we do in January? Regardless of whether this is the start of your fiscal year or in the middle, all of these suggestions could help:

Make sure every donor from December has been thanked.

Make sure all of your recurring monthly donors have a received a letter telling them the total amount of their giving for the past year.

Personally call all of your major donors and thank them for donating last year.

(At this point you might be seeing a pattern. Basically, are you in relationship with your donors, do they know that, and are you in a position to continue that relationship this year.)

Send a year-end review to your Board of Directors. Let them know five or six highlights of the past year and a couple of things that surprised you.

If this is something that you can do, send the same type of email to the entire staff.

Meet individually with your team members and talk about how you want to rock it with them in the next couple of months. Be prepared.

Learning. Yes, most of us have a lot to learn. Hold a training for your team.Go to a training. Create a "101" for folks you lead.

Finally, it's important to not give up on lapsed donors from last year. You've run the numbers and you see that your donor retention rate was not that good. Just because you are in a new year doesn't mean you need (or should) give up. Create a plan to engage with those donors.

Let's make January an incredible month!

Thanks for reading!

How much have I given?

This week I excitedly sent our annual giving letters to donors.

What?

Donors are busy. Their job is not to keep track of how much they are giving and when they gave. That's my job.

We start with those who donate monthly. When those donors set up a monthly donation, we ask them if it's OK that we send them an annual thank you letter as opposed to a monthly one. They love that, mainly because it saves time and money for us. So in the first week of January we send out those letters.

Then we go to our list of donors who have made multiple donations, or have donated a cash gift and perhaps attended an event. The letter spells out the tax deductibility of the event donation and includes any other cash donations, and of course the dates of the donation.

These letters help us, and the youth we serve, in so many ways.

We are not asking for a donation.

We are making a touch.

We are letting our donors know about their giving, which may or may not surprise them. I find that doing these letters adds to an increase in gift amount. It also helps in a decrease of lapsed donors. How many times have you met or spoken with a donor and their response to you telling them their last gift date is one of shock? Time flies, not only for your but also for your donors.

It's up to us as fundraisers to communicate with our donors and to support them in any way we can. Hopefully you are in good relationship with your donors and yearend giving letters will not be a surprise or something that they are not aware of!

Thanks for reading!

An awesome fundraising team

I think about this often.

As a fundraising professional.

As a leader of a team of fundraising professionals.

As a person who is responsible for raising funds so program people can do their jobs.

As a human being who is completely passionate about making positive change in the world and intensely passionate for the mission of the agency I fundraise for.

What makes an awesome fundraising team?

Several things:

People who give a shit about the mission.
People who have some sense of a work ethic.
People who aren't afraid to talk about the mission.
People who aren't afraid to build relationships.
People who aren't afraid to make a financial ask.
People who realize there is no box.
People who care about more than just themselves.
People who are creative.
People who can listen.
People who have the ability to set their own personal ego aside.
People who can lead if their in a leading position and who can mange if they are in a managing position.

This is a start.

We as fundraisers are changing the world. Our success makes a difference in whether or not the program folks can do their job, which in our case is saving and changing lives.

An awesome development/fundraising team is vital.

Thanks for reading.

A short video

I have been using video a lot ever since buying an I phone two years ago. It's a wonderful way to get a message out quickly and also an incredibly creative way to thank donors.

Today, with the frigid weather in Denver, I decided to make a video asking folks to donate to any agency that serves the homeless.

As my videos go, it is timely, informative, asks folks to take an action, and short.

I decided to make this particular video as I know so many agencies that serve the homeless were taken by surprise with the crazy winter weather that is affecting a good part of country.

Do you use video? Check it out and give it a try.

Thanks for reading. And for watching.

Donor relationships

I have said many times that I love the "R" word, meaning that I love the word "relationship".

It is a word that too often is overlooked by fundraisers and professionals in philanthropy.

And that really needs to stop.

If you are passionate about your organization's mission, get into solid relationship with your donors.

If you want to rock your budget, build relationships with your donors.

If you want to build a source of revenue that that your organization can count on, make sure your donors know that you care about them.

How does one go about this?

Call them. That's right. Next time you get an email from a donor asking a question, call them with the response.

Invite them on a tour of your facilities.

Email them a video thank you note.

Send a personal note.

Send them an impact report, or annual report. When we send these out we add a big "Thank you" on the back with signatures of our team.

These are just a few ideas of many. Start here and I assure you your relationships with donors will change.

Thanks for reading!

Human touch

I have been re-posting some of my most read blog posts lately mainly because of life being so crazy. I am back to having time to write.

And I want to write about something so very important.

That is treating your donors and supporters as human beings.

Thank them.

Call them.

Ask them how they are doing.

Ask them for their opinion on something.

Ask them to pre-read a direct mail piece that you want to send, getting their opinion.

Call them. Yes, I am writing this again.

Invite them for a tour of your facilities.

I could go on and on.

There is a reason why people donate to our causes. We need to know why. And we need to ensure that our donors know how grateful we are and that we don't just see them as a human ATM.

Short but sweet. What will you do today to treat your donor as a human being?

Thanks for reading!

A new fundraising effort

We recently began a new fundraising effort and in the first month it has been very successful, so I wanted to share some of the strategies with you.

We want to raise $300,000 in six months for a specific project. We want to raise $50,000 per month.

It's important to have a clear goal right from the start of the campaign. It's also important to be able to express how exactly funds raised will be used. We covered these two items before we event started with the planning of the fundraising effort.

Similar to a capital campaign, I believe it's important, regardless of how much money you decide you want to raise, to have several people in mind to help support the campaign. As we were deciding when we would kick off this effort we created lists of who we would make personal asks to and who would be on the list for a direct mail piece. After going over ideas of how to present to major donors, we decided that one third of the revenue would come from major gifts. That would be our goal. That meant that in six months, $200,000 would need to come from all of our other donors and those who are donating for the first time. Every organization will be different in how this breaks down. The important thing is to have the conversations with your team and form a strategy.

We decided to begin on April 1st which as you know is also April Fools Day. It also would be the half-way mark of our fiscal year and give us exactly six months to fundraise.

"No joke - we need to raise $50,000 this month".

You get the idea. On April 1st we rocked it with social media and ensured our direct mail piece landed. We also did an email blast.

Everything we did connected back to the fact that we need to raise $300,000 in the next six months, that we wanted to raise $50,000 each month, and exactly what we were using the money for.

Everything was planned out before we began. We met several times as a team and even brought in some long-term donors. Our strategy was clear. We tried asks out on different people, including ones who knew very little about our organization or our mission.

It's working.

I'd like to add that this is one experience. Every non-profit has their own stories and strategies around fundraising campaigns and efforts. This is just ours.

I hope this benefits some of you!

Thanks for reading!

The special event is not dead

Our organizations largest financial fundraiser of the year was last week.

It was a dinner.

I hope I didn't already lose you.

It was also a time when we honored an individual, a business and a civic/faith group for all they have done for us as an agency and the youth experiencing homelessness we serve.

I can imagine what you might be thinking: another fundraising chicken dinner.

I know.

This my first time planning this event. With a little over a year here and the experience of being at the dinner last year, I wanted to make some changes and take some risks.

Yep, risks.

Taking risks with an event, especially your biggest event, is not always a feel-good task.

All of the risks we took were focused on making the event more about our agency and the youth we serve as well as trying to reduce the expense budget.

Instead of hiring one of those amazing companies that does check-in and check-out and gets all of your guest information, we asked staff to do that.

Big, famous emcee? We asked staff to do that.

Expensive video company? You guessed it. We asked staff to do that.

During our live ask we had staff and volunteers greet each guest as they committed to a donation. The guest was handed an envelope with the amount they had just raised their number for. Over 90% of those who made donations filled out the enclosed information for the donation and handed it back to us.

Our check-in and check-out processes worked. No lines. Just amazing staff greeting those who allow us to do our vital work.

In the end we beat budget while cutting our expenses by 43%. We can now tell our supporters and future sponsors of this event that for every dollar that we spend on this event we raise five.

Take risks. Make your special event about you and your mission. Every single detail goes back to your mission. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Thanks for reading!

Where is non-profit leadership?

As someone who has been in the non-profit world for some time, and who loves it, there is something that is clearly missing from our community.

Leadership.

Not management. Or micro management.

Just good, inspiring leadership.

And before someone in a leadership role gets a little angry with me, I am writing about all levels of leadership, including my area, fundraising.

I am writing as a fundraiser and as a donor.

Recently one of our donors was sharing with me their experience with another non-profits Executive Director as well as their Vice President of Development. The words she used to describe them were arrogant, not mission embracing and not interested in their donors.

Whew.

I'm not surprised. I have been asked several times by peers a question that makes me ponder: How do you have time to call your donors? They had not called a donor in months. The number one reason why? Time. As a donor, I don't like hearing that. As a fundraiser, my time is best spent building relationships with donors, including calls.

What I love seeing in ED's, non-profit CEO's and Development executives is what I love seeing in anyone who cares about the mission of a non-profit: Prefers to spend more time leading than managing; understands how vital it is for them to fundraise and build the brand; allows their staff to rock it with what they were hired to do; and is a huge, vocal supporter of staff. They do not fear a staff that is incredible at their jobs, they embrace them.

They spend their time meeting with leaders in the community, heads of local business, potential funders as well as other leaders in the non-profit world. They encourage and engage their staff, and most importantly, they trust their staff. They do not get bogged down in managing the non-profit or their executive leaders nor do they allow those same folks (or themselves) to get bogged down in the ever ending amount of meetings that tend to engulf some non-profit teams. They support the relationship-building that is crucial to any non-profit and they are good listeners.

A lot of this can be addressed when board members are interviewing candidates. Regardless of how much time someone has already been a CEO or ED, how comfortable are they sitting down with a funder and making an ask? What does leadership look like to them? Board members can be inspiring to non-profit leaders. Their direction, love of the mission, and knowledge of the non-profit can be a huge benefit. On the other hand, there are board members who sit on half a dozen boards. How much time and energy is your non-profit actually getting?

This type of Executive Director is out there, believe me. The reason I am writing this post is because I don't think  there are enough of them out there.

Our amazing missions and those we serve depend on incredible leadership.

Thank you for reading!

$86.00

In a casual check-in with one of my co-workers, she told me that we had raised $86.00 from eBay sales the prior month.

$86.00

For many of you reading this, there may be no cause to celebrate. Indeed, many people might have chosen to not read this post because of such a low number in the title.

A couple of months ago we began selling items on eBay. We also began the process of letting our donors, volunteers and supporters know that they could donate to Urban Peak from items they sell on eBay.

Our first month we received a direct deposit of $1.26.

Now we are up to $86.00. And that is only from what supporters have sold online. With no effort on our part. Sellers on eBay can choose to donate anywhere from 10% to 100% of the sale to a non-profit.

This is huge to me.

This is how an entire new way of fundraising begins.

This is what the creation of a new budget line item looks like.

$86.00.

Of course we are late onto the eBay bus. But we are super excited and cannot wait to see what happens. Not only do we get the opportunity to raise money in support of our mission serving youth who are experiencing homelessness, yet imagine the brand visibility we get when folks are buying and selling on eBay.

This is just the beginning.

With all of the time we spend on campaigns, donor cultivation, lapsed giving, planned giving, corporate giving and special events, there are still so many other options out there for us to look at and see if we can do something with them.

Sometimes it's fun to not really think or act outside of the box, but to simply act as if there is no box.

If you raise money on eBay for your organization I would love to hear from you. We are in the early stages, yet we all believe that we can go very far with this idea of raising money from the millions of people who sell and shop on eBay. Generosity is alive and well online and I want to be  apart of that.

Thanks for reading!

Using video for fundraising

I have been creating a  lot of videos lately in an effort to not only fundraise but to build stronger relationships with our donors.

Here's an example of one I did this morning:

I must admit that this morning I was sleepy and freezing cold but I think the message I was trying to get across is loud and clear.

I did this with my iPhone 5. It's simple and costs nothing.

I have made videos to ask for an urgently needed item, to make an ask for donations and to invite people to an event. I have also made videos to thank people as a group and specific videos for just one donor that I email then for a special thank you.

Imagine how your donor feels when they open their email and there is a video from you just for them to thank them for their donation!

I recently created a Vimeo account. We'll see how that goes. Our agency currently has a YouTube account and I highly recommend that!

Give it a try. Post it on your groups Facebook page and see what your supporters think. After a month or two of many videos, I asked our supporters what they thought about them and if they thought that I was doing too many. The feedback was a resounding "we love them and keep it up"!

Give video a try. You have nothing to lose!

Corporate giving

As a non-profit that receives a lot of support from local businesses and national companies I have always been grateful for business people who truly care about supporting our mission in serving youth experiencing homelessness. There are a lot of non-profits out there doing amazing work, and when a company chooses us as the recipient of a financial donation, I celebrate them.

As every individual has their own, personal reason for giving, so too do corporations. Some give because it is their community, some give because someone on their staff is on the board, some give because they are having a public relations problem and some give because they have a desire to make positive change. I could add dozens of reasons to this list.

My approach to asking for support from the business community is one of pure relationship. I don't like simply asking for a donation. As I do with individual donors, I want to be in a life-long relationship with the business. That of course looks different for each business.

Aside from an annual donation, what can the relationship look like? For me it starts with a tour of our space and introducing them to our mission. It continues with letting them know the variety of ways they can support us aside from a financial donation.

Then the fun really begins. How can we, as the non-profit, benefit them?

This is a question only the business can answer. I like to get creative. Would their presence at our annual dinner benefit them? Would having our staff speak to their employees be something of interest to them? What about social media? Remember that every business is different and their partnership with you is going to be different than the next business supporter based on why they are supporting you and what they want from a partnership.

For me it's important to be clear and for me to understand exactly what the business would like from us. I recently had a conversation with a potential corporate supporter who has been using the term "strategic partnership" for some time. I still, after many conversations, do not have a clear picture of what that is.

It's also important to know when there is just not a fit. Every business is not going to want to partner with you, regardless of how amazing your mission is. That's OK. Remember that just because there might not be a fit now doesn't mean that there can't be a fit in the future. And remember that a partnership is not only about a donation. We have dozens of businesses that have employees who volunteer with us all of the time. We couldn't be as successful with our mission without these folks. Each one of them is equally important as a financial donation.

I work for this agency because I firmly believe that we completely rock in our mission to serve youth experiencing homelessness. I take that belief and make sure that comes across in every dialogue I have with a potential supporter. That can help. After all, who wants to give to someone who doesn't come across as 100% enthusiastically supportive of the mission they are representing. When I am meeting with potential corporate donors I must remember that I am the voice for those who have had their voice taken away from them.

Thanks for reading!

An amazing non-profit employee

For those of us who fundraise for a non-profit, working at an agency filled with amazing, committed staff makes our jobs so much easier.

I am one of the luckiest guys in fundraising as I get the opportunity to fundraise for an agency that is filled with employees that bring it every day and are incredibly committed to the cause of serving youth experiencing homelessness. Every day I am blown away by their work and by their effectiveness in changing lives, in supporting youth, and in simply just showing up to serve those who are in need.

One of our employees that consistently rocks it for the youth and for our mission, and one who on a daily basis blows my mind with how incredible he is in supporting the youth we serve, is Clayton.

Clayton works in our Drop-In Center and supervises the staff there. The Drop-In Center is open Monday- Friday and is a place where youth experiencing homelessness can come by for a hot breakfast, to do laundry, take a shower as well as receive any of the dozens of services that our staff is there for to provide them.

I have met amazing youth at the Drop-in Center and spend a lot of time there as it's just across the street from my office. Sitting in the office for even the shortest of times one gets an immediate feel for what the youth we serve go through every day as well as the challenges brought to staff every day.

I have watched Clayton for almost a year and his patience, kindness, directness, empathy and compassion shine through in every interaction he has had with a youth. A youth could be screaming at him and this wonderful man, a veteran of the Iraq war, will simply stand there and listen. And listen. He then calmly will give guidance and support to the youth, and in a very calm and quiet tone take a situation that would freak most of us out and end it with there being some kind of resolution within the youth.

Watching Clayton invigorates me and strengthens me. It makes me want to be a better person. He 100% makes me a stronger fundraiser as after watching him in action I come back to the office and share what I have seen or learned with donors.

Clayton is also a rock star in my eyes because of his team. Our employees who work in the Drop-In Center are rock stars, each as an individual and as a team. Every day they are they for the youth we serve, in so many ways. And every day they greet me with kindness and a smile, the same way they greet the youth.

I'm sure your organization has a Clayton, or several Claytons. Thank them. Let them know they rock. Let them know you as a fundraise are way grateful for all they do. Introduce them to donors. Your entire fundraising world will change for the better.

Thanks for reading!