What is the purpose for you raising money and why does it matter to others? Without knowing this you’ll never engage people in the process. Let’s put together a purpose statement for fundraising.

• Begin with your mission statement for your organization and break it down line by line
• Take each line and come up with three items describing what you’re doing for others
• Fit the items you describe into different sentences. You will have a number of sentences when you’re done

A purpose statement is a declarative sentence which summarizes the specific topic and goals to be achieved. Narrow down the sentences you wrote. You may not get them into one sentence although do your best to be specific.

Your organization may already have something like this, and if this is the case, how does it match up after doing the process above?

SOAR with Network Fundraising believes a purpose statement, when shared with people, will engage them. The goal of engagement in this instance is gathering support in the form of fundraising. Take a flock of birds. Did you know the leader can fall back into the flock and another bird will take the lead? You can plan for this by bringing volunteers/advocates on board, educating them about your purpose statement and allowing them to take the lead by sharing it for you!

Advocates share by word of mouth. A Harris Poll in 2016 said this:

• Word-of-mouth isn’t limited to specific industries (i.e., it’s not just for eCommerce brands) or demographics, but certain age groups and income levels do rely more on referrals
• The vast majority (more than 80%) of Americans seek recommendations when making a purchase of any kind
• When someone shares or talks about a brand on social media, there’s a significant correlation to purchasing behavior
• Incentive structure plays a big role in increasing and scaling referral activity

SOAR with Network Fundraising consults with fund raisers to assist in developing a productive advocate program. It’s an opportunity to be successful with minimal investment of time and money. There’s a Webinar series (180+ minutes) and an audit of fundraising systems available.

Relationships are key to growing market share. SOAR with the networking arms of people to elevate your success.