For Impact - The Suddes Group

11/10/2022

Returning from a ten-day trip to Kenya where we met up with covid-era clients/friends from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya working on climate adaptation, food security, justice, education, youth resilience, economic empowerment, and social entrepreneurship.

I am grateful for our ability to connect throughout the world via zoom - and will be a champion of that accessible format forever. That being said, nothing can replace the warmth (and dancing!) that comes from being together in person!!!

Kazi Mghendi and the team from Elimu Fanaka Initiative are doing game-changing work to impact education in rural Kenya. Check them out!

On Tuesday, our Team Lead Kazi Wallingford had pleasure of having an in-person reunion and time connecting with some of the Cohort and also had a great honor meeting Lisa Corcoran and Nick Feller of and Issroff Family Foundation team Gabrielle and Mwende. Many thanks to this team for making time to meet up!

You can learn more about our projects here: https://bit.ly/2URwB0W

01/08/2021

The Fundraising Craft: Affirmations for 2021
WOW EMAIL • JANUARY 08, 2021 • NICK FELLERS

Through 2020 and coming into 2021, we collected many fundraising success stories from clients and friends who had to work very hard to stay focused while balancing many realities:

* The pandemic (and there is not much to say about that).
* The k-shaped recovery. Some sectors are roaring and as a result, the ‘asset class’ is doing better than ever.
* Role reshuffling in organizations. So much of our coaching is trying to help leaders and fundraisers find focus amidst uncertainty (and often change).

That hard work often required repeated affirmation. Here, I compile many of the affirmations I’ve used over the years, as well as many developed through coaching clients in recent months. I’m hoping 1-2 lines speak to YOU.

—-

The Fundraising Craft: Affirmations for 2021

I am a sales professional.
My product knowledge is expressed in impact and vision.
My craft is the forging of the human connection.
There is not a day I cannot grow.

This craft is important.
Engaging is what creates connection.
Asking is what unlocks generosity and meaning.
On any given day my work can offer the highest point of leverage for our team, organization, and cause.

My craft is measured by productivity.
In ‘normal’ times I focus on effectiveness and efficiency.
During this time I give myself permission to focus on a different ‘e’ — energy.

Today my ability to connect, unlock meaning, and drive impact is a function of energy.
I will remind myself daily to not waste energy on things I can’t control.
Instead, I will direct energy toward what I can control: process and perspective.

Connection, meaning, and impact can CREATE ENERGY,
if I let them.

I hear of Zoom fatigue but I choose to flip my story:
It’s not about the medium, it’s about the meaning.
Virtual visits and experiences can create more meaning and impact (in different ways),
if I let them.

I don’t know whether a prospect will commit but this is my perspective:
I do not make decisions for my prospects.
Now is the time to engage.
It’s my job to present the opportunity.
The opportunity has never been greater.

I embrace my craft. Today. In this unique time and place.
I appreciate that I can learn and grow in ways that will benefit me forever;
I choose to see this as an opportunity for more connection and meaning… unlocked by engaging and by asking; and
I will direct my energy toward this process knowing it will save, change, and impact lives.

07/29/2020

92 people on our virtual workshop this morning! There are still spots available for our virtual Boot Camp next week - Click here to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/113574496376/

07/20/2020

Join us for our Virtual Boot Camp! Dates available in July, August and September.

- Six hours of live virtual instruction to simplify your message & create a funding rationale - resented with a timely COVID-19 lens
- One-on-one coaching included
- Over 60% off in-person Boot Camp investment

Click link to learn more and register!

For Impact Funding Boot Camp

06/01/2020

The For Impact team is available as a sounding board for our clients, alumni and readers to help them sort and plan in these unprecedented times. SORTING SESSIONS are coaching sessions at no charge to help sector leaders sort out what’s happening today - to be ready for tomorrow.
http://forimpact.org/sorting-sessions/

05/27/2020

WOW Email - Virtual Visits: Lower Fidelity. Higher Access. - https://mailchi.mp/forimpact/changingcontext-774508

01/17/2020

The late great sales trainer, Zig Ziglar, used to say, “People buy on emotion and justify on logic.”

This is true whether you’re fundraising for a capital campaign or completing a Series-A-funding-round for a start-up venture.

*People buy on emotion and justify on logic.*

Adding to this insight, in recent years, advances in neuroscience have helped us to understand that the brain processes meaning before detail.

*Start with the WHY (in everything). Why is your organization important? Why does the funder care? What’s important (meaningful to them)?

*We (as salespeople) need logic and details BUT those details are maximally effective only when they flow from an emotional connection.
Note: This is even true when selling to CFO’s!

*Connect. ENGAGE! Around meaning.
Then, through the power of engagement (e.g. asking questions and listening to the answers) you can provide the right logic and detail, tailored to each prospect.

11/26/2019

Creating culture is more than perks! Read more on our latest blog post.

I just finished reading What You Do is Who You Are, by Ben Horowitz. I was a HUGE fan of Ben’s first book, The Hard Thing About the Hard Things. And, I’m just as eager to recommend his second book! With his first book, really shaped some of my thinking about culture. He defines culture …

11/15/2019

Mean what you say, but also...SAY what you MEAN!

Message is not what you say, it’s what people hear. This nugget is adapted from the book title: Words that Work. It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear, by Frank Luntz. There are a lot of ways to process this nugget. However, we use it most when we’re trying to create a funding …

11/06/2019

The goal should never be to ‘just cultivate.’

I cringe when a development professional starts a visit preparation discussion with the declaration, “This is just going to be a cultivation visit.” There should be no such thing as ‘a cultivation visit’!!! And, certainly not ‘JUST a cultivation visit’! It suggests the visit is limited ...