What’s keeping your nonprofit or ministry from being fully funded?
Mary Valloni lays down some truth to help us overcome the lies we believe about money and fundraising. Plus, simple things you can do today to start your journey to Fully Funded.
Mary Valloni has helped thousands of individuals and organizations overcome the lack and scarcity mindset to fund and fulfill their missions. Her award-winning book is Fundraising Freedom: 7 Steps to Build & Sustain Your Next Campaign.
This is a replay of an interview we recorded in May 2020. It’s one of the most popular episodes of Life & Mission, and I hope it helps you!
Talking about money
While many of us shy away from conversations about money, Mary tackles the money issue straight-on. How does she know the money problem can be overcome? She’s done it. In a recession.
“Let’s just start dreaming, because there’s no reason why money should ever stop anyone from fulfilling the vision that God has given to them… If money is your biggest problem right now, I’ve got something to tell you. That can be overcome. We can tackle that. That is easy on the scale of what to overcome.”
Mary Valloni
Mary’s enthusiasm and her joy are contagious. We need more people like her. One of the big problems for fundraisers, especially in ministry, is that we do it alone. So, Mary teamed up with Mike Kim, a top personal brand and marketing expert. They created Fully Funded Academy, which helps missionaries get – you guessed it – fully funded.
The process for missionaries or nonprofits of any size is similar, following the seven-step framework laid out in Mary’s Fundraising Freedom book. This process can help you get clear on your mission and message, and pull together a team of volunteers (an important step often overlooked in fundraising).
Our focus in this interview is on mindset, because during a crisis it’s easy to assume people aren’t going to give. But that’s not the case!
“This is not the time to freeze and to slow down. This is absolutely the time to innovate and to figure out what is what, go back to the foundation of why you created this thing in the first place, and realize that your vision has not changed one bit. We are just going to do this a little bit differently.”
Mary Valloni
What can we do right now?
Mary’s top advice right now? Communicate frequently, “because that’s what friends do.” Now is the time to check in on our supporters, to see how they’re doing, and to ask for their advice. Share the wins, even the little wins. There is a lot of bad news these days, so your good news will get noticed. “We all need each other. Some people are going to have the finances; some people are going to have the passion, the time commitment to go and do the physical work. But we are all in this together.”
Links
Connect with Mary at maryvalloni.com and at fullyfundedacademy.com
Need a Certified Fully Funded Coach?
fullyfundedacademy.com/kayhelm
Get the book: Fundraising Freedom: 7 Steps to Build and Sustain Your Next Campaign