| by Terry Axelrod, Founder and CEO, Benevon
Spring Out of Organizational Fatigue
Introduction
In the nonprofit sector, it's easy to lose sight of the mission
when you have bureaucracy and budget cuts. But it's the mission
that hooked you in the first place-the program building gardens
in low-income neighborhoods, the agency taking care of stray
and unwanted animals, the group offering food to the homeless
or shelter for battered women.
So, first, sit back and realize the miracle of the nonprofit
safety net. In the United States alone, the nonprofit sector
employs some 11 million paid workers and 6 million full-time
equivalent volunteers - representing 7-8 percent of the nation's
workforce. That's three times the size of the agricultural
workforce, 50 percent more than construction trades and 50
percent more than all the nation's workers in finance, insurance,
and real estate.
According to an October 2002 Brooking Institution's Center
for Public Service survey of 1,140 randomly selected nonprofit
employees, nonprofit employees have a greater love of their
work than any other workforce sector in America today.
Sometimes all it takes is a little rekindling of that passion.
The Minneapolis Foundation, one of the nation's largest community
foundations, sponsored a session last February on re-igniting
your board's passion that hit a nerve with attendees.
Before the event, the RSVPs exceeded room capacity, said
Desiree Heller, the vice president of Philanthropic Consulting
Services.
"From the beginning, the response to offering the event
was outstanding," she said.
And the response during and after the three-hour session
was overwhelmingly positive.
"Even before the [post-event] survey was sent, we received
numerous unsolicited thank-you cards with sincere thanks and
appreciation," said Heller.
One person wrote: "When you change the way you look
at things, the things you look at change. That happened for
our group that night."
A woman with a group advocating the sport of curling said:
"Our team just realized we're not involved with this
organization just to build a better curling rink but to build
a better community."
Nobody knows more about rekindling that passion than Terry
Axelrod, founder and CEO of Benevon, a Seattle-based organization
that has trained more than 2,000 nonprofits in a mission-based
fundraising system. It was Axelrod who led that popular session
in Minneapolis, and she is now constantly helping other nonprofits
to re-ignite their passion. Axelrod is offering a series of
six articles for readers of GrantStation:
- Part One: "The Inherent Generosity in the World,"
shatters the notion of donor fatigue.
- Part Two: "You Never Know Who Will Be Generous"
dispels the myth of who is capable of a large gift.
- Part Three: "Re-igniting the Passion for Your Mission,"
is an exercise you can do with others in your organization.
- Part Four: "Zero in on Your Emotional Hook,"
teaches you how to tell your story with passion.
- Part Five: "What Makes a Compelling Video,"
discusses how to create a seven-minute video that packs
an emotional impact.
- Part Six: "Tales of Passion," takes a look at
how people facing burnout have found new passion for their
cause.
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