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OWN YOUR BRAND SHOW with Victoria Odekomaya
Welcome to the OWN YOUR BRAND SHOW where you'll learn how to own and grow your brand and market your business. Every week I interview entrepreneurs and/or share branding, marketing and business tips to grow your influence, build a profitable business and make an impact.
Victoria Odekomaya is an award winning photographer, brand & marketing strategist with over a decade of experience. She is passionate about helping women fulfill their dreams and purpose effortlessly.
Click to be featured, advertise on the show or connect with Victoria: https://mtr.bio/limstudios
OWN YOUR BRAND SHOW with Victoria Odekomaya
Small Acts, Big Impact: Philanthropy for Small Business Owners with Expert Tips from Gabie Benson | Epi 40
Imagine transforming your small business into a powerful force for good. Our latest episode promises to show you how philanthropy can elevate your business and make a lasting impact on your community. Victoria sits down with Gabie Benson, a fundraising and leadership expert with over 20 years of experience and the owner of Sprout Fundraising and Consulting. Together, they delve into the myriad ways small business owners can support existing nonprofits, from volunteering to event sponsorship, ensuring that your charitable efforts align seamlessly with your business mission.
Gabie offers a goldmine of practical advice for those looking to establish and sustain their own nonprofit organizations. She walks us through crucial steps like securing IRS status, setting up a board of directors, and creating bylaws, all while stressing the importance of collaboration over duplication. Gabie also reframes the daunting task of fundraising, encouraging business owners and nonprofit founders alike to see it as an opportunity for impactful change rather than a chore. With her strategies, turning the act of asking for money into a proud endeavor is within reach.
We don't stop there. Our conversation shifts to the vital importance of measuring nonprofit impact to secure grants and funding. Gabie shares actionable strategies for new organizations to demonstrate results, emphasizing the necessity of structured programs and metrics. We also address the systemic challenges faced by homeless families and the power of small acts of generosity. Plus, discover the benefits of subscribing to a monthly newsletter filled with tips, tricks, and free resources designed to help your organization thrive. Tune in and be inspired to harness the power of giving back in both your business and community.
Sign up for Gabie's newsletter to receive free resources: www.sproutfundraising.com
//ABOUT
Victoria Odekomaya is a Nigerian American and former drug research scientist turned brand and marketing expert. Through her Creative Agency, LiMStudios, she specializes in brand photography, video creation, and strategic marketing. Victoria's mission is to empower female entrepreneurs to be SEEN, KNOWN, and HEARD, enhancing their visual presence and attracting their ideal customers to build a BANKABLE PERSONAL BRAND. Victoria's scientific background has honed her analytical thinking, attention to detail, and problem-solving skills, which she integrates into her branding strategies. Her 23-year journey to U.S. citizenship reflects the perseverance female entrepreneurs need to overcome challenges in branding and marketing. This fuels her dedication to empower women to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams.
In 2022, Victoria launched the BOSS LADIES CAMPAIGN, giving participants a celebrity photoshoot experience to enhance their confidence and brand visibility. The campaign promotes these women through features in BOSS LADIES magazine, appearances on Victoria's 'OWN YOUR BRAND SHOW', and recognition at the BOSS LADIES GALA. The gala not only celebrates women but also raises funds for local non-profits, so far raising $19,000+ for Dove Recovery House for Women and PINK RIBBON CONNECTION.
For sponsorship/business inquiries, visit https://mtr.bio/limstudios or email hello@thelimstudios.com.
First caution anybody before they just started a nonprofit to think through what that's going to mean for them and see if there is potentially another nonprofit already doing that work that instead they could become very involved in and supporting.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Because we definitely don't want to duplicate a lot of efforts. That's right Instead we want to work collaboratively to improve them. But it's a process. You have to apply through the IRS for a nonprofit status. You need to establish your board of directors. You'd have bylaws, just like you would when you're setting up a business, right. You still need bylaws and who's responsible, who's ultimately responsible, and then figuring out how you fund that program. And that's the overwhelming part for so many people who want to start a nonprofit. How do I get paid?
Speaker 2:Right how do I?
Speaker 1:how do I fund this program?
Speaker 2:Today's episode is about giving back, and I know you're like Victoria I'm a small business owner. I'm just trying to make my business run. What do you mean giving back? I don't even have enough. Well, my guest today is Gabby Benson. On. What do you mean giving back? I don't even have enough. Well, my guest today is Gabby Benson. She has over 20 years of experience in fundraising and leadership in the nonprofit space. She owns Sprout Fundraising and Consulting, and she has personally helped me with the tips and tricks to raise almost $20,000 for nonprofit organizations. So we're going to be breaking down how you can give back and what that means for your business and your legacy. Thank you so much, gabby, for coming today.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me, Victoria.
Speaker 2:I am so honored for you to be here and I know you've helped me personally. But I know a lot of questions on the minds of small business owners are like what do you mean give back? Like what does that even mean?
Speaker 1:minds of small business owners are like what do you mean give back? Like how, what does that even mean? You know, I think philanthropy, generosity, giving back, is part of all of us, like we all have an innate need to want to help others or solve problems, and philanthropy and charitable giving is how we do that. So, even just as a woman, there are very many things I feel very passionate about. I want to help other women. I want to support children, moms you may be really passionate about breast cancer because it's something that has been impacted your family. Or you want to support organizations that help folks who are experiencing homelessness, because you believe that no one should sleep on the streets at night, right. So philanthropy is just the way that we solve problems and help solve problems, fill our cup up with something much beyond ourselves, and it doesn't have to be in the way of a Melinda Gates, right? Or, you know, in the ways that people with huge wealth give back. Um, giving for most people might be a $10 donation a $50 donation.
Speaker 1:Um, many people do it through their own churches. They give on a weekly basis. That's very important to them. They support their schools where their kids go, and I think philanthropy just has to be a part of everybody's lives. It just fills you up with so much, and so giving back can look a lot of different ways.
Speaker 2:I like that because you also mentioned in the article of Boss Ladies magazine. We have volume two out now, so if you haven't picked up a copy, please make sure you do. It's free, so make sure you check on the website. But you provided us with multiple ways that we can give back. Can you share some of that with us?
Speaker 1:I feel really passionately about women who take an opportunity that they have, who are leaders, who are experts in something, and supporting organizations who need that expertise and too many nonprofit boards don't have enough women at the table a lived experience that can change how an organization thinks about how they're serving the people or the place that their mission is really focused on. So the article that I wrote for you was really about encouraging boss ladies to get involved in their community, identifying a cause that connects with their mission as an organization, whatever their business is, and aligning what they do to include philanthropy in their own business work. So that might be serving on a board or volunteering. So if you are a stylist right, or a photographer, maybe you want to work in volunteer with a group that has low cost clothes for folks who are in need of new clothing for back to school, or helping dress moms who are trying to get back into the workforce in professional clothes.
Speaker 1:You might find something that really fits really nicely with whatever it is your brand and your business is. But nonprofits also need resources. So, cash cash resources right.
Speaker 1:So maybe as a boss lady, as an entrepreneur, solo entrepreneur you set aside a dollar amount that you donate out of certain sales to go to a certain cause, and maybe that's seasonal. So in October maybe you're donating specifically for domestic violence because that's a cause that's really important to you and it aligns with your mission. So maybe every sale of a course or a coaching package or something that you might do goes to a charitable cause and that's a way to elevate your own business.
Speaker 1:But also support that nonprofit and then the a way to elevate your own business but also support that nonprofit. And then the other way is like sponsorships. Nonprofits always need sponsors for events and festivals and putting your company out there in a sponsorship brings brand awareness to you, so it's positive for you. There's tax benefits to that, but it also supports that organization, giving them the resources they need to run a really fantastic event so they can raise more money. That's good.
Speaker 2:So I do at least two of the three that you just mentioned. I set aside a portion of every photo shoot to give to a nonprofit organization, and I also help raise some money through our events every year too. And I remember the first time that I was going to do this, I had no clue and I was like Gabby, can we have a consultation? Like I need help. And you pretty much broke it down for me and it was very helpful and I'm so thankful for that, because without that we wouldn't have been able to raise that much money. The other thing that I think we did that was very impressionable for me was when we were trying to auction silent auction. I remember you coming into the gala you were like we're going to put this price on this one because we're like running behind on time and everything like that, and that really helped us too. So I think that's also another way, wouldn't you say, like by donating some services for silent auction?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely Donating items. A lot of organizations need materials too, so they need toilet paper and cleaning products, like we do for our own houses. So donating in-kind products or items, baskets, gift certificates that align with your business for a silent auction helps them raise money in other ways and plus brings you, as a business owner, a new potential client.
Speaker 2:Right, and I like where you tie that into our branch, to our building our businesses, because I think a small business owner, sometimes we don't think outside of the box. You know, when we said giving back, you know it's almost like, yeah, we're giving back, but we're also receiving back to. You know, like putting. You know that brand awareness goes a long way. Plus, you could also get a client, like you just said.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I mean your customers, your audience, whatever that is for you wants to know that you are a corporate, you have corporate responsibility with your business Right and that you care about the community you serve. And sometimes it's the distinguisher for you as a photographer, it was a nice distinguisher to say this amount of dollars out of the package that, uh, that we work with together goes towards charity and it makes you stand out in a crowd and, uh, it's another great communication piece that you can promote for yourself Right and building a relationship with a nonprofit that you care about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I also feel like the ladies that I photograph when they hear that it makes them feel like they're contributing to something bigger as well. Yes, exactly. That's good, All right. So you've talked about joining a board. I've never done that. I've been kind of thinking about that but like, how do you even get started with doing that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would look around First. I'd identify the things that you care about the most. What are the things that problems in the world that you want to help solve, or issues that have impacted you and your own family or your upbringing that you feel like you could add a voice to? Or just looking around your community at what needs to be done in your community, if you see throughout your own community that there's a lot of poverty, there's a lot of families that have to sleep in their cars, or hotels, or kids who come to school and they're hungry and they don't have enough like clean clothes or they're always shoes always have holes, whatever you identify Like.
Speaker 1:Okay, I need to help here Cause I feel a calling, and sometimes it's just something in you that goes. This is the thing that I need to do, and so find that thing. First, find your thing that you're most passionate about, and then do some research.
Speaker 2:There are millions of nonprofits in the world when you say do it, how do you actually do you go on Google.
Speaker 1:I would start with a Google search If you care a lot about solving homelessness.
Speaker 2:homeless shelter in central Indiana you're going to get a great list.
Speaker 1:There's also networking events for nonprofits where they are promoting themselves, doing almost trade show sort of setups to recruit volunteers. There's a fantastic one in Indianapolis called Get On Board and it is a showcase of the most amazing nonprofits in central Indiana where they have tables and you can go learn about them and sign up to volunteer and then they start to work with you on being a potential board member. You don't have to have a lot of money to be a board member of an organization, right? We think of boards from huge art museums and educational institutions and, yeah, a lot of those board members have a lot of money, but every nonprofit needs a board a board of directors, and sometimes your talents as a board member might be in marketing and
Speaker 1:helping them promote themselves in social media or figuring out their brand. Your expertise might be in financial management, right, and everybody needs a really great bookkeeper or CPA on their board or legal advice, and sometimes if it's aligned with a particular profession, you know, if you're a doctor you may really be useful on a board of directors for an organization that is serving some sort of medical need or diagnoses within within the community. So make sure it aligns with you. But do a little research. They're easy to find um and reach out. I mean mean every nonprofit I know looks for board members.
Speaker 1:They want really great board members, but they don't know how to find you either, so reaching out to them really helps.
Speaker 2:That's good to know and I think the board members has a term limit right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, most nonprofits have a term limit for their board of directors. It might be two to three years, so a couple years to serve on the board. Volunteering is a really great way to start to see, if you even like that cause.
Speaker 1:Are they organized? Do they manage their volunteers really well? Does it look like they steward dollars that have been donated really well? And that lets you get to know the program before you commit to being a board member. And board members, their ultimate responsibility is the fiscal management of a nonprofit organization, so they're looking at the big, big, big picture. So, sometimes, if you're a really strategic person, a board table is exactly where you need to be, because they need strategic thinkers to solve a lot of problems.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when you said to volunteer to see if it's a good fit, like, are they organized, I'm like, well, if you're the organized type, maybe you need to be there to help them be organized.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:That's a good one, okay, so we've talked about where you can find this nonprofit. So you said, just go on Google and you find them and they're always looking to get you to. So how I know there's some people that are looking to start a nonprofit, like I have heard. So we've done the gala twice now and we've raised money multiple times, you know, to support a nonprofit organization and I've heard most people would come to me to say, well, why don't you start a nonprofit organization? And I'm like I have no idea what that is, neither do I want to go into that because it seems overwhelming, but you're an expert in this area. So what does that even look like? Where do I even begin? Like I'm not sure that I want to do it, but I'm sure there's some people that are like they just have that heart of service and they want to do more. Like how do they even start?
Speaker 1:the process. Founders of nonprofits are extremely passionate about what their cause is, or they have come up with a unique solution or a unique service to fit a need that very likely they have experienced themselves, and so they come from a point of passion. But they're not always business people. They're not always experienced in running a business. And a nonprofit is a business. But it's different than your typical, like setting up an LLC. It's just different. The rules are different, the policy is different, taxing is different, right, financial management is different. Uh, I would first caution anybody before they just started a non-profit to think through what that was, what that's going to mean for them, and see if there is potentially another non-profit already doing that work that instead they could become very involved in and supporting. Right, because we definitely don't want to duplicate a lot of efforts.
Speaker 1:That's right instead we want to work collaboratively to improve them. Yeah, but it's a process. You have to apply through the IRS for a nonprofit status. You need to establish your board of directors. You have bylaws, just like you would when you're setting up a business, right?
Speaker 1:You still need bylaws, who's responsible, who's ultimately responsible, and then figuring out how you fund that program and that's the overwhelming part for so many people who want to start a nonprofit is how do I get paid? How do I fund this program? A lot of the nonprofits that I work with now my clients are founders or they're board members who started a nonprofit and they're still not to the point where they can pay themselves, because it takes a lot of resources to do that and it's hard to get started from zero.
Speaker 1:You know we look at big nonprofits in the community have millions and millions of dollars right, they get huge grants. They started somewhere too, so it does. It's a process and it takes time, but it also takes a little bit of patience.
Speaker 1:So I really try to work with founders who have started, that have all that passion and drive but just need somebody to come alongside them and help them work through the problems and know what the steps are to take and building out, giving them the confidence to build out a program and step outside and ask for a contribution or ask for a grant or ask for a sponsorship, with confidence in themselves to be the face of that organization, because that's usually the roadblock that we see founders come up on, where they have a brilliant idea and they're so passionate. But raising money is hard Tell me about it. It's really hard, and so when you hear no, a couple times then, you start to step back and wonder did I make the right decision?
Speaker 2:So you say confidence, and I think that's something that a lot of us can relate to. We try that in nonprofit or for-profit business, like it's just the confidence to go out and sell whatever it is that you offer, or to even ask money when you necessarily are not giving anything in return. I can see how hard that is. So what do you say? How can we overcome that lack of confidence? Because I know that's where you help your clients, sure.
Speaker 1:You know I have been raising money for different missions for over 20 years and I joke that I beg people for money for a job, but I don't, because it's a mindset place that you have to be in when you're raising money, because you're not begging for money, you are creating an opportunity and offering an opportunity for somebody to invest in something much bigger than themselves. You're offering an opportunity for them to have a meaningful impact on an issue that they care about, and if you position it as that you're not begging, you're giving them a gift to be able to give back to something they really care about and you just never know where somebody's at when they're even asked that question so it sounds like you have to remove yourself from the equation and make it about the mission, the vision, and it's really about giving people the opportunity to, to contribute to a larger purpose.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, I also think sometimes how we were raised to think about money makes a big difference on how we can talk about it right right right. So we were talked like don't talk about money, don't talk about religion, don't talk about politics, um, so, especially at a generational sometimes a generational perspective, we've just been raised for it to be uncomfortable. Or we were raised at um um uh, you know, I, we, my family, didn't have a whole lot of money growing up, and so it was more like hold on to what you have.
Speaker 1:So if you have a mindset as a fundraiser of scarcity, um, then you are going to be scared to ask because, you also feel like you need to hold onto things, but if you approach your nonprofit work, your charitable work, with abundance, and understanding that people will not give more than they have and that you're creating an opportunity for them to have meaningful impact.
Speaker 1:Then it's no longer about scarcity and you're starting from a position and a mindset of positivity and asking because your mission is really important. It's having a having an impact on someone or something. Um and you should be proud to tell people about that, but also not, um, not so unproud that you don't ask, right you?
Speaker 2:have to ask, right, and so I'm thinking a little bit now in terms of marketing. So part of the way I imagine you would ask is also showing some of the work that you've done, you know, so that people can get an understanding of this is what you're contributing to. Yes, results, right, the results yes.
Speaker 1:It is. Raising money for a charity is not unlike sales Right. Right you have to prove that your product solves the problem Right and that everybody who buys your product is in a better place afterwards. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Charitable work is exactly the same right. So if your program is about supporting individuals who are facing addiction, who are substance use disorder, then your programs are reducing their use, they're reducing their recidivism into reusing substances and they're staying in recovery. They have a sober living mentality Like. Those are your results. So nonprofits also have to measure those results and know that somebody who went through their program started at A and they ended at Z and what was the outcome and result of their work through that program. Big funders when we get into grant writing and requesting grants from foundations or from corporations, they have to see results in order to make that?
Speaker 1:investment. So that's like a phase two for most nonprofits. You get started and most of the people who are donating to you are like your family and your friends and your most immediate network, but then, as you're moving towards appealing for big grants to fund your program, you've got to have those results. So, making sure that things are being measured, you've got surveys in place and you know what your outcomes are going to be. It's just the same as if you would from a product that you sell.
Speaker 2:Right, okay, I have two more questions here. Number one what about those that are just starting out Like? This is a brand new idea and you maybe or may not have like a result yet. Yeah, how do you go about that?
Speaker 1:Right, so it would greatly depend on whatever your mission was right. But I would start by outlining just as you would with your business right who's the audience. So if your program is about empowering young girls, okay. So how are they feeling today before they start? Your program is about empowering young girls, okay. So how are they feeling today, before they start your? Program that empowers young girls, and then it's a six-month camp.
Speaker 2:Okay, right.
Speaker 1:Where do you want the girls to be at the ends of the six-month camp? Okay, well, we're going to talk about financial literacy. We're going to talk about body awareness. We're going to talk about relationships positive relationships. We're going to talk about financial literacy. We're going to talk about, um, body awareness. We're going to talk about relationships positive relationships. We're going to talk about self-confidence and, through your programs, you would have measurement tools that you might create. There might be a survey. How did you, how did learning about this make you feel Right?
Speaker 2:Do you feel?
Speaker 1:like you have more confidence in yourself, in your skin, at the end of camp than you did at the beginning of camp. Those are easy ways to start to measure your outcome, and then sometimes it's just metrics, like 300 girls went through the camp Makes sense. Right 90% of them felt a greater sense of self-confidence before when they finish camp. Just easy tools that can show that your mission has impact and that you are on that path to telling that story.
Speaker 2:That's interesting. So you've mentioned program multiple times and I was like what is a program I thought you just like? But I think you just described it to like just a series of steps or actions or something like that, that you take the people through, know the people, true, yes, to get the results.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Um, if your your program is how you help people, right. So your program might be, uh, providing resources. It might be providing pro, like a camp, a class, a course, um, your program might be shelter. Your program might be food access, whatever that is. But everything is in the nonprofit sector is programmatic right. Who are you serving and how are you serving them?
Speaker 2:Well, so I know you worked with MyBow for several years and that is something that's also close to my heart, like helping women and children. Just give us some stats. You know with. You know people in that, people that are going, that have the need in MyBor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so for 10 years I ran the MyBor Realtor Foundation. We were a grant making organization, so we raised money from the real estate industry and created grants for local charities who are solving homelessness in central Indiana. The vast majority of those who are experiencing homelessness in central Indiana are children. The leading cause of homelessness for women and children was domestic violence and, of course, mental health. Substance use disorder, number of poverty and, primarily, poverty were the leading reasons for homelessness, and so that was such an amazing experience for me because I got to reach into a lot of different causes and learn a lot about a lot of different causes that all lead to somebody not having a safe place to call home every day.
Speaker 1:The way they got there is different, the reasons they got there are different, but ultimately that was the problem that we were trying to solve. It's a huge issue issue in central Indiana and, um, it's a huge, it's huge issue everywhere, but, um, we have as many as 12,000 people will experience homelessness each year um, in central Indiana and you see them if you go downtown for just about anything. Um, the unhoused in our community are very, very visible in the downtown area, but the ones you don't see are the families with kids. And so it's shocking when I say, like, the average age of a homeless person is seven years old, because you just like that's not who you see. You see an older man corner at circle center mall.
Speaker 1:You don't see children because mom would lose her kiddos if you saw her. So, but that is the reality of homelessness in central Indiana.
Speaker 1:It's families who can't afford rent or their rent has been skyrocketing in the past five years. Childcare is far too expensive. Right, transportation is a big, big challenge in central Indiana If you don't have an operating car but you need to get one child childcare over here but your job is over on the West side. Um, that you spend hours on a bus system and it's not manageable for families. Um, plus our wages. Our wages have not been increasing as well, so it's just a number of things that sort of rolls all together. But, um, that was the greatest thing I learned running the realtor foundation for my board was just how much housing instability impacts families and that there are there's far too far too many solutions for them.
Speaker 2:Wow, that is so, so heartbreaking. You know just, and I remember, um, I want to go back to a story that you told, or I've heard you speak of, how you went, got into philanthropy. You were like I think it was, at a camp and this little girl gave, donated money so that another girl can be a part of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, when I was working with girls inc of greater indianapolis. You know, I I studied. I was a women's studies major in college, so issues that impact women and girls have always been really close to my heart. So I love to work for girls. Girls inc. Really make young women strong, smart and bold. Yeah, um, and one year we were doing a fundraising event. It's this luncheon. We have all of our campers, young women who are there and they're showing off what they learned at camp and they're so proud. And in the middle of the event which is just genius we send the campers around the room with little baskets to collect donations from the guests who are at the luncheon, because how can you not say no to?
Speaker 2:this adorable girl. Let me just say real quickly, that is an idea right there. So if you're thinking, well, how do I raise money? You just got one right here. Yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:You just can't.
Speaker 1:You can't say no when there's a little girl with a basket standing in front of you Anyway at the end of the luncheon this little girl comes up to me because I'm collecting all of the contributions they had collected and she hands me five dollars like her own five dollars and says like I have loved camp and I just want somebody else to be able to go to camp and I mean, she was probably seven, I don't remember how she was young and it was probably the only five dollars she had, but she, it meant so much to her to have that experience, she wanted somebody else to have it, and that's what philanthropy is all about right, we're just paying it forward to somebody else because you have been blessed in so many ways or you have lived it and you know what it feels like.
Speaker 1:Giving back and paying it forward just fills your cup in such a way. But that little girl, I would just always remember her passing her only $5 off for another kiddo to have that experience that she had had and loved.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow, even the kids. They're teaching us a lesson right there. It's not only about giving the big, big money. Just a little bit here and there. The time that you spend to volunteer on a board, even if you don't have the money, like using your talent, they go a long way. Yeah, it's amazing, wow. So if you can give us a number I know you've raised a ton of money in your 20 years of doing this Can you like give us a ballpark of how much you have helped raise?
Speaker 1:You know I have raised a lot of money. I've worked with a lot of really large organizations and raised a lot of money. There are definitely some high points. Um, I started in my career at IU and the IU foundation and we I was working in direct mail, so you know, when you get like a mailing with um stickers or addressing an envelope, something in the in your envelope.
Speaker 1:That's what I was doing, learning to do at IU and we had mailings that raised like as much as major gift donors as much as the major gift officers would get from one contributions and it was amazing that I could get you know a thousand people to respond to a mailing and raise as much money as they were getting from one.
Speaker 2:So does that still work? Yes, oh, my God, cause I feel like I just show it.
Speaker 1:Direct mail is definitely still should always be part of your fundraising. That's another tip right there. You don't get enough good mail anymore you get bills and junk. But when you get a beautiful letter, um, that tells you about what your 50 donation would do or thanks you for your 50 donation. Um, it's certainly generational, but some of the best responders to direct mail for non-profits are millennials who feel like they've just stopped people. Stop sending mail and there's they.
Speaker 1:They respond just beautifully and older generations do realize. But you should always have direct mail as just another touch point for organizations. It's more expensive than sending an email or a social media post Um but I I loved seeing the response that we could get from direct mail when I was at IU um the real Realtor Foundation. When I was running that organization, we started granting $100,000 a year when I started. When I left, we were granting $300,000 a year.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God.
Speaker 1:And that was really really big because it was being able to say yes to more causes, yes to more missions, bigger grants. Over time, we would have grantees that. They started out with $2,500 grants and we moved them up to $10,000 or $15,000.
Speaker 1:And for a small organization that's huge. And it was a dependable income source, a dependable grant that they could get year after year after year. So I was really proud of how we could grow that program. But, like I said, my favorite wins have been the $5 from the little girl. Those sorts of experiences, Wow.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's amazing. So I know you have a wealth of experience and you've actually given us a ton, even in this 30 minutes or so. How can people reach out to you and how do you help them?
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, that's it, thank you.
Speaker 2:I'm sure there's like someone out there like because I know you've helped me personally You've actually helped a lot of people even in the course of this conversation but there's some people that need a lot more help. You know handholding and things like that.
Speaker 1:Reach out to me on LinkedIn. I would love to connect there, um, or visit my website, sprout fundraisingcom. Um, but I am available. I would love to do a consultation call and a brainstorming call with any nonprofit that needs just a little bit of strategy. Do a quick five minute fix for you, right, because it's a process and I have done a little bit of everything in the world of fundraising and every organization is unique and the strategies that are going to work for them are unique, their audiences are unique, and so I can't say here's your playbook, because that wouldn't fit everybody.
Speaker 1:And so I want to help organizations identify what's the best strategies for them what's going to be a quick win to get cash flowing quick, and then what are long-term strategies that are going to really shoot them in the direction that they need to be going. So reach out on LinkedIn. I would love to have a conversation with anybody.
Speaker 2:I feel like, okay, I didn't specifically ask the question about what sets you apart, but I feel like the conversation basically showcased what sets Spark Consulting apart Because, like you give your very, like, your passion shines through. You're like, in this conversation, you give multiple ways for people to. You know so and I don't know how many people do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I will say that the big distinguisher for me and my company is that I am hands-on and actually do the work with and for the nonprofit.
Speaker 2:So, versus.
Speaker 1:here's your plan and here's some ideas Like I implemented with them.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, so I might write the direct mail appeal for them.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow Write the grant or come up with a sponsorship package and the benefits and that's very helpful because you know, for people that don't have no idea how to do run a business, a nonprofit organization like them, just having someone take care of that is so helpful. Thank you so much. Thank you. This has been like really, really impactful. Thank you so much. So I'll put all the links in the comments. We already know how that goes. Make sure you check the comments for links and the website too, so you can book a consultation. She's going to give you a five minute fix, if that's all you need, or even have a longer conversation to find out the strategy that works specifically for you. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I also have a newsletter.
Speaker 2:You can sign up for my newsletter on my website.
Speaker 1:And I do a monthly newsletter with different tips and tricks and some free resources to help organizations get going or identifying like here's a great podcast on this topic that would be really helpful for an organization. So that's a great freebie information each month.
Speaker 2:That's great. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for coming in.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having me, Victoria.
Speaker 2:Well, until next time, make sure you continue to find ways to give back. We've talked about many options here, but it's important to include that in our business so that we can leave a legacy and also help others in our community too. All right, take care.
