Connect to what the money DOES!
Have you ever been in total awe of what you were seeing?
The Y2Y Board Retreat in Montana provided my first chance ever to visit Yellowstone National Park (and Ken joined in!). This experience was so amazing because of the newfound connection I have made to nature – grizzlies, bison, elk, moose, and so much more since I began working with Y2Y. What I was connecting to was what the money DOES – and really does– in person.
Y2Y is the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative – one of the largest wildlife connectivity projects in the world running about 3,400 kilometers (2,100 miles) from Yellowstone (USA) to Yukon (Canada). The Yellowstone to Yukon landscape still supports much of its native biodiversity — Y2Y’s goal is to keep it this way. That was clear at our Board Retreat and “Let’s get Wild!” donor appreciation event.
Do you focus on the money… or what the money does? And REALLY Does?
What do I mean by that? Well, if you focus solely on money your results will be limited and lackluster. And your work will be hard. When you make the jump to sharing what the money does your results and your retention will change dramatically – all up!
Let’s look at Y2Y. While Y2Y has a variety of specific ways you can help – crossings over major highways to keep animals (and people) from colliding, trash containers to keep wildlife out and away from unsavory encounters with folks… and more. These are tangible results of what the money does. And when we fully embrace what the money REALLY does, our connection is deepened beyond what is tangible.
For Y2Y, this is what the money does: Connecting and protecting habitat from Yellowstone to Yukon so people and nature can thrive.
This is what the money REALLY does: We believe in hope for people and nature.
Your vision for what the money REALLY does inspires a deeper connection for your board and staff and they, in turn, inspire generosity by sharing this connection they feel with donors and beyond. During our time together this was profoundly powerful in the attention paid to every bird, bison, or beaver dam as part of the success of the large vision.
Let’s look at Christian Living Communities in Denver. We are in a dynamic, first-time-ever major campaign. Yes, we have specific goals to provide funding for staff, facilities, and programs for seniors who live there. That is what the money does. What the money really does is stated in their vision, “Creating communities where aging is honored and celebrated.”
For Georgia-Cumberland Academy, growing from $200,000 to over $20M in 5 years funded new buildings, scholarships and more. What the money REALLY did was to empower donors to have an eternal impact in the walk with Jesus experienced by GCA students and the broader GCA family.
There’s this combo you need to bust major gift success wide open. Focusing on what the money does and really does, and doing so in ways that creates and deepen connectivity. A popular tweet can connect – and standing alongside the road taking in 14 baby bison makes you gasp!
And here’s the best part of all. As you zero in on what the money does and really does – your ‘work” to create connections at all levels with others to share what you value and believe in is no longer work! It’s your day-to-day opportunity to forge, with positive energy, an almost spiritual connectivity. And that, my colleague and friend, will conserve more than just the Y2Y Region for the grizzlies. Thank you for being part of this honorable and noble work. I appreciate you. And…
Welcome to, and enjoy, YOUR. BOUNDLESS. JOY!
Invest in JOY®
