Motivated Supporters

The supporters of your organization have the potential to be evangelists for your organization and mission. Are they? If your school is like most schools, some are great evangelists and others are lackluster at best. How do you raise all of them to evangelist status?

Perhaps we should first define who the supporters are. They are staff, parents, volunteers (board and others), students, donors, and referral sources as well as those in the community who realize the value of the mission.

Their level of evangelism (enthusiasm) depends on their experience. Each group will measure the experience differently. If you want to increase their motivation, you must first increase the depth and value of their experience.

Think about your supporters for a moment.

There are three levels of supporters.

Good - When someone asks, "Are there good parochial schools in the area?" and the response is, "There are St. James, Christ Lutheran, and North Side Christian."

Great - When someone asks, "Are there good Christian schools in the area?" and the response is, "The best choice is..."

Evangelist - When they meet someone new with children they say, "The best school in the area for what your children need is..."

Why would a referral source pick one answer over another?

Their experience is the primary reason. If their experience with referring families is usually good (parents and student have minor or no complaints), the referral source will use the "Good" response. It is safe and unlikely to hurt their reputation.

If the families never have complaints and the students perform better than comparable students at other schools do, they will use the "Great" response. The consistent high performance and satisfaction provides assurance that their reputation is safe.

If the parents are enthusiastic supporters and the students consistently exceed expectations, the referral source will be an evangelist. Sending someone to that school is a reputation builder for the referral source.

Next Step:

Place your list of supporters in categories (donors, parents, etc.) and prioritize the categories

Survey the top category and identify which members of the category fit in which of the support groups (good, great, and evangelist)

Determine what it will take to move the good to great and the great to evangelist (results, communication of results, protection for their reputation, etc.)

Create an action plan for the next year and a goal of how many from each group will move up

The collateral benefit from the plan is that all categories will become stronger. Next year you can choose a new category of supporters to focus on.

This process will increase referrals (enrollment), donations, and volunteers. It will also strengthen the mission and help the students. It requires very little additional effort. However, the targeted approach pays dividends beyond the effort required.

The higher the number of evangelists among the supporters the more sustainable the organization is. You will have more donors. Donor generosity will increase. You will have more clients.

Don and his partners started Mission Enablers (http://missionenablers.com/) in 2001 to help nonprofits increase their capacity to serve those in need. Mission Enablers is one of several successful businesses that Don has started. He has also served on a variety of for profit and nonprofit boards. His primary focus today is helping schools (private, parochial, Christian, and faith-based schools) increase enrollment, develop strong leadership teams, improve their governance, and increase their fundraising effectiveness. When away from the office he enjoys spending time with his daughters' families, grandchildren, and working in his gardens or cooking.