SCOPE Sarasota Meets the Challenge
Sarasota, Florida

Client Challenge:
Challenges are meant to be just that. When the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation extended a 3-year challenge grant to SCOPE in December, 2007, they asked this 7-year old non-profit community-visioning organization in Sarasota, Florida to step way out of its comfort zone and raise significant new dollars from individuals and corporations.

Individual fundraising was simply not part of the culture at SCOPE. With support coming mostly from government funds and foundation grants, SCOPE leaders knew they needed to broaden their base of financial support—and the Selby Foundation gave them the opportunity.

Goal One: to raise $50,000 in gifts and pledges from new and lapsed individual and corporate donors by June 30, 2008. Goal Two: to give staff and board members the skills and confidence to meet the challenge and become skilled fundraisers. For a board and staff with little experience in individual fundraising, the first question was "Where do we begin?"

Schultz & Williams Approach:
SCOPE hired Schulz & Williams in late February 2008 to help develop a strategy to meet the challenge, design materials, and train staff and board members to complete the task. Sue Seiter, Schultz & Williams Senior Consultant in Florida, worked with SCOPE staff to review lists of past participants in SCOPE community forums and revisit lapsed donor lists to put together a Top 50 prospect list. A presentation was made to the board to engage their interest in the challenge, to harness their passion for SCOPE and to solicit their ideas and connections to the Top 50 prospects. A follow up meeting of self-selected Board Ambassadors was convened to assign prospects, discuss strategies to get face-to-face appointments and request gifts.

Seiter did a presentation on how to get the appointment, how to listen and ask for gifts. SCOPE purchased Jerry Panas’ Asking as a quick reference for each Ambassador. A business card sized "cheat sheet" on SCOPE facts and figures and the parameters of the Selby Challenge was produced. A leave-behind presentation packet was created and a letter sent to the 50 prospects informing them about the Selby Challenge and to expect a call from a SCOPE Ambassador.

Board members consulted with SCOPE staff on target asks and seemed armed and ready to go to work. Getting started was hard and appointments were tough to schedule. By the end of May, only 10% of the $50,000 Selby Challenge goal had been raised. It was time to move into high gear.

Results:
Seiter spoke with each board member personally to review his/her prospects, make suggestions on how to proceed, and provide encouragement. On May 30, the ice jam began to break when the Ambassador team of Tracy Seider and Nick Gladding rushed into the office with the first 3-year pledge in hand. An e-mail went out to all the Ambassadors: "Tracy and Nick have done it—and you can, too!"

The enthusiasm was infectious. Executive Director Tim Dutton made calls that had lingered long on his "To Do" list; other Ambassadors made their calls and added new prospects to the list. At a catch up meeting on June 16, previously unengaged board members stepped up, offering to make follow-up calls to folks who had made verbal commitments. By June 30, $50,194 had been raised and, as of this writing, $11,000 toward the Year Two challenge goal of $75,000 is already committed.

Challenge made, challenge met; board inspired and empowered. What a great success for SCOPE!