The Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration is a big day in Woodland Park. There are family activities, entertainment, and a fishing derby!
Volunteers make this event possible. Here’s a link to check out volunteer opportunities.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Art Walk on Sunday, April 25, 2021
Plan to join the walk and have fun in Woodland Park. The starting point for the walk is Memorial Park this month. Next month it changes to the Reserve – Our Gallery at 400 West Midland.
Meet at 11:00 if you want to join in. You can also use the map below to make your own way. Cheers for a happy Sunday – art adventure.
The Moose is Loose Window Decorating Contest has a Winner!
The following businesses and nonprofits partnered to dress the windows during the Moose is Loose annual sales event in Woodland Park. The Moose is Loose is an activity Tweeds Fine Furnishings coordinates with the help of other businesses in town each year. The winning window: Alpine Firearms and AARF – Adoptable Animal Rescue Force.
- Alpine Firearms and Adoptable Animal Rescue Force
- Colorado GearLab and HtN Hope Lives Here
- Cowhand and Ute Pass Historical Society
- Cowhand and Symphony Above the Clouds
- Hungry Bear and SATURN
- Mountain View Yogurt Plus and Status: Code 4, Inc.
- Williams Log Cabin Furniture and Lighter Side of Christmas
Charity Sales in 2021
Local nonprofits (serving people in Teller County, Colorado) have the opportunity to participate in Charity Sales with SOAR to fundraise for their organization. The Charity Sales are done virtually.
Sale items for a Charity Sale are collected by SOAR and stored. A person purchasing items during the Sale makes a donation directly to the nonprofit. This is done when an item is picked up. Money does not change hands ahead of time. Donations are made online through the nonprofit’s website.
SOAR provides Charity Sales at no cost except for storage fees. SOAR takes care of collecting items, marketing the sale through social media and setting up the online sale.
SOAR offers this program as a way for residents to give back to local nonprofits. Sometimes, a person is downsizing their home and they have a bedroom set they’d like to give away. A Charity Sale is the perfect solution! These activities began during the 2020 pandemic as a way to enhance local giving.
On average, nonprofits earn 7% on their short term investment of $125. This a great way for a donor to enhance their gift to an organization.
If you’d like to learn more – email iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org or text one word – charitysale – to (833) 763-0494
Nonprofits and Businesses Partner for “Love Local” Window Decorating Contest
Winners announced!
Symphony Above the Clouds and Rhapsody Bar are the People’s Choice Winners!! $50 donation to the Symphony Guild from SOAR. (Total votes: 65) They added 34 votes during the Sidewalk Sale coordinated by Main Street on September 19, 2020!
The Runner Up for People’s Choice ALSO had a table at their window location during Main Street’s Sidewalk Sale. Congratulations Friends of Mueller State Park and GearLab! $35 donation to the Friends of Mueller State Park from SOAR. (Total votes: 56)
Honorable Mention Winner is the Woodland Park Junior Wrestling Club because of their creative window painting at Jackalope. $35 donation to the Woodland Park Junior Wrestling Club from SOAR!
We appreciate all participants: Cowhand, Teller Senior Coalition, Help the Needy, Alpine Firearms, AARF, Mountain View Yogurt Plus, Nonprofit Cooperative of Teller County, and Habitat for Humanity of Teller County
Do You SOAR? Time to do a SELFIE and see!
Time for a self check to see if you SOAR. Do you…
S – share your message
O – offer opportunities for people to be involved in your mission
A – accept the way people participate
R – respect and appreciate everyone involved
SURE – I bet you already SOAR. The depth of how often and how much you SOAR is the determining factor when improving your current status.
SOAR in the airstream – 33,000 feet
SOAR at Ground level
To SOAR you have to begin at the ground level before you can take flight. SOAR with Network Fundraising is a book that brings networking into the program to grow market share and raise money. The ground level is based on getting help to fulfill your mission. There’s a way to engage volunteers and build your network.
Establish your fundraising team and begin to host monthly meetings. Determine how you’re going to raise money and what kind of resources you already have and what you’ll need. It is important to include your fundraising team in decision-making and let them take roles.
Elevation to the airstream happens when the team you have is able to fly on their own. This is when you are able to relax, watch, mentor, and make important decisions while your team is motivated to create success for your organization’s mission.
getting into the Airstream
There are ways to get to the airstream rapidly. SOAR at ground level is one way. The reference of birds flying in a v-formation to get from one place to another efficiently is an example. Birds fly in a V because the leader creates an updraft and following behind is easier. Gayle Gross of SOAR with Network Fundraising trains you on leading your team toward successful fundraising. SHE creates the updraft for you and in the end, you create the same kind of updraft for your team. Organizations who SOAR migrate to the place where their organization benefits most. It’s the place of higher resources and lesser resistance.
Do you already have a fundraising program? Add the credits you’ve already earned because of the things you already do in your program – click here!
Engage business partners when fundraising to get the best results
Email iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org OR, schedule a call to get your fundraising questions about SOAR answered.
Build fundraising into the framework of engagement for local businesses.
- Meetings and activities for SOAR’s Co-Op happen within brick and mortar business locations to promote developing partnerships and potential sales/service
- In-kind donation opportunities by a business help to offset the frequent “ask” for donations, which is a common complaint contributing to donor fatigue
Use it as a platform to develop a model for giving back
- SOAR’s Co-Op increases communication, which promotes being on the same page as well as resolving conflicts
- The Co-Op becomes a central donation/distribution hub when the right parameters are in place. This relieves businesses from constantly being asked and potentially feeling that if they do not comply they will lose business
- Communities thrive when people give back in meaningful ways. Meaningful depends on knowing each other’s likes and dislikes and caring enough to always make it a positive experience.
Offer the program as a marketing opportunity
- Trainings and networking events are built into the program, which promote the development of professional relationships
- People have an opportunity to “be the trainer” and at the same time promote their business. This is when getting to know the business owner or who they have working in their shop truly makes a difference. Someone operating a cash register may have previous experience in event planning. They can be the experts in the field when it comes to training nonprofits on the topic at Co-Op meetings. It’s shining the spotlight on talents and creating goodwill at the same time
Added Bonus!
- The fee to participate in the Nonprofit Cooperative is adjustable. The total left over at the end of the year is equal to a fundraiser.
The participation fee does not raise a lot of money although there are ways to expand upon the model to make fundraising more affective. For example:
- Events have sponsors
- Activities and increased sales at Main Street business locations develop into positive stories. Use these when writing grant requests
SOAR works with organizations to implement the Nonprofit Cooperative
- SOAR shares the message of how the Co-Op benefits an organization’s mission
- An organization chooses to develop a Nonprofit Cooperative in their community, which adds a longer philanthropic arm to their mission
- SOAR analyzes the potential for success through discovery with key stakeholders and additional research. A proposal is presented when a better than average rating is achieved.
- A partnership develops between SOAR and the organization, which normally lasts through the implementation phase or up to one year
Creating Positive Experiences
A positive experience begins with the right intent – an opportunity to offer something meaningful to another person. Only 4% of people voice their complaints to you about something you’ve done. Are they voicing their dismay to others? You bet. Begin by recognizing how you feel. If there’s any feeling you have that maybe, just maybe, you offered bad service to someone or said something, which may have been taken the wrong way? The first step is to ask, “Is everything alright? Is there anything I can do to make things better?” If the person says, “Everything is fine.” You have to take their word for it and then, create positive experiences. It takes 12 positive experiences to delete one negative.
Positive experiences to think about:
- Asking “Is everything alright? Is there anything I can do to make things better?”
- Sending a personal note letting the person know you value your relationship with them
- Add a benefit for them related to what they value. A person with a business would like to know you sent someone their way
- Invite the person out for coffee or lunch to get to know them better
- Ask this person to share their expertise by offering an opportunity to do so
- Communicate openly
- Show appreciation
- Make interactions simple and easy
- Understand expectations and then go above and beyond
- Recognize efforts they make
- Listen and acknowledge their ideas
- Watch your body language during interactions to make sure you’re open and friendly
- Always say something positive to this person
- Add this person’s name into conversation with them
- Draw attention to personal connections
- Tell this person a “secret” so they know you better
- Be as transparent as possible
- Remain caring, professional and polite
- Be yourself
- End conversations in a polite way: have a good day, have a nice night, see you soon, talk to you later…
- Be positive and create positive feelings
- Invite this person to join a club, experience, event
- Anticipate and be attentive
- Find an emotional connection – a common bond
- Empathize
Customer service has reached a new level, and in fact, has entered into the realm of being more personal. Our lives have become much more of an open book because of social media. Maintaining positive relationships are most-important for keeping your life in tune, on a positive note, so to speak.
Email iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org OR, schedule a call to get your questions answered about how to create positive experiences in your community.
Taking it Easy on Donors
Donors have a giving heart. They are asked more often than not to consider giving. Ask a donor, “What can I do for you?” and they will probably sidestep the conversation. It’s not something they’re comfortable discussing. It’s not supposed to be about them in their mind because it’s about others.
Understanding how a donor feels is important. You show a quality mindset when you take time to understand their intent and then provide opportunities for them to benefit. It is a nice way to “give back.” These six powerful words, “what can I do for you,” have the ability to transform a situation. It’s a way to shift the discussion and put the energy back on making someone else happy. In this case, it is your donor.
Consider this – more than half of all people who visit a nonprofit’s website do so from a mobile device according to Mobilecause.com. This is an old statistic so the numbers are much higher now. What does your website look like on a mobile platform? Check it out on your phone and make sure it is user-friendly. Is there a donor button? It’s not just about having a “donate now” button because a “donor” button is more about the emotional component of why they give. A donor button is about telling your story, and also about sharing with donors the benefit of why giving to your organization is important. The button explains what’s in it for them? This is that uncomfortable situation again. But, it’s true. What’s in it for them? They can feel good about giving to a cause and get a spiritual kudo just about anywhere. They can get a tax benefit for specific kinds of donations. Sure, this works. But, they can also GIVE to any organization to get the same rewards. Why would they give to yours?
Setting yourself up for success begins on the backend. It’s your opportunity to set the stage first. Begin by doing this:
- Check your mobile platform for your website’s format and message. This is the the way most people are seeing you. Connect with your website designer as necessary to update for mobile changes
- Be up to date on social media, other online sites, and with phone messaging systems. Call yourself and your answering system through the office. What message do you hear? Do you have recent posts on social media and on your website? It takes time and is often put on the bottom of the list. Dedicating a couple of hours each week to this process, or finding a volunteer to do it, makes the world of difference in the end
- Make a list of the ways you’re giving back to donors and add to the list while remembering, each donor is different and it takes some time to discover the intricacies of what’s most important to them. This is about taking the time for discovery and then taking the time to establish a plan to let your donor know they are your most important asset.
The people you serve are most important to your mission. The people who help you serve are your greatest asset. An asset is the people volunteering, working for you, or those who provide a means for your service. A donor, a sponsor, or a foundation provide the means by giving money for your mission to continue. Taking it easy on donors is key to your success.
For additional information on coaching through the fundraising process – connect with SOAR with Network Fundraising. The programs are cost-effective and focused on your mission. There’s not a cookie-cutter approach to taking it easy on donors, providing the right message or opportunities to be involved, and engaging the public. Each situation is different. SOAR coaching offers the training and then the follow up. The Leader’s Program creates sustainability through a year-long program. Click Here!
Schedule a call or send an email to iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org
Over the TOP Fundraising Team
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Don’t go alone! How long have we been preaching this to our kids. “Partner up!” It’s that simple.
The V-formation develops and runs your fundraiser successfully. What in the world!? A V-formation is a group of birds, flying in a flock, to get to where they want to go. That’s not me!
Are you sure? Wouldn’t you get further if you led a V-formation (Volunteer Formation)? It’s about managing your time effectively. WE ARE ALL TOO BUSY. Of course, we are. We don’t have time to hover over the nest. There are bigger and better things for fund raisers to be doing. Like…meeting new people and developing relationships.
We recommend building your V-formation first: Assigning roles and managing the process. BE THE LEADER!
SOAR helps people develop roles and manage processes.
V-formation is Everyone who…
- Shares the cause and tells the story of how they are connected to your mission
- Engages donors and sponsors (increases donations and lower costs)
- Answers the following question with yes – “will this decision help us raise more money for our cause?” If the answer is no, spending time on that item is avoided
Sample Roles for your team
1. Event Coordinator
2. Marketing Collaborator
3. Hospitality Chief
Building a strong V-formation depends on communication. There are lots of ways we communicate. People do have preferences. Figure them out!
Learn more about SOAR’s Annual Coaching Program by clicking here.
Wondering about the “800?” Schedule a call or send an email to iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org